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A  Study 


OF 


Various  Sources  of  Sugar. 

Sugar-cane,  Sorghums,  Sugar  Beet, 
Maple,  Watermelons,  etc. 


BY 

LEWIS  S.  WARE, 

MEMBER  OF  AMERICAN  CHEMICAL  SOCIETY,  ETC. 


PRICE,  FIFTY  CENTS. 


.PHILADELPHIA: 

HENRY  CAREY  BAIRD  &  CO., 

8 10  WALNUT  STREET. 

1881. 


1  7 


W-3 


• 


To  DR.  GEORGE  B.  LORING, 

Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  Washington,  D.  C. 

DEAR  SIR  :  In  inviting  your  attention  to  the  fol- 
lowing pages,  in  which  the  undersigned  has  attempted 
to  examine  into  the  various  sources  of  the  supply  of 
sugar,  and  especially  of  those  which  are,  or  have  been, 
deemed  available  for  this  country,  no  apology  is  thought 
necessary.  The  overwhelming  importance  of  the  sub- 
ject is  such  that  it  cannot  be  ignored  by  the  American 
people,  even  if  they  would.  Politically  independent 
for  more  than  a  century,  the  United  States  has  thus 
far  been  unable  to  achieve  its  industrial  and  financial 
independence.  The  result  has  been  a  visitation  of 
almost  periodic  monetary  crises,  accompanied  each 
time  by  a  paralysis  of  industries  largely  arising  from 
the  great  indebtedness  of  our  people  to  Europe.  The 
outlook  at  the  present  moment  is  such  as  to  indicate 
that  the  fruits  of  the  protective  policy  which  we  have 
enjoyed  for  two  decades,  may  be  such  as  to  bring  at  an 
early  day  our  entire  emancipation  from  this  thraldom. 

The  undersigned,  therefore,  respectfully  begs 
leave  to  suggest  that  sugar,  being  the  largest  single 

646265 


article  of  import  into  this  country,  offers  a  greater 
field  for  usefulness  in  the  investigation  and  the  intro- 
duction and  development  of  a  new  industry,  and  the 
accomplishment  of  this  great  national  aim,  than  any 
not  now  here  existing.  That  of  beet-sugar,  after  years 
of  patient  investigation,  he  believes  to  be  entirely 
feasible ;  others  which  have  been  attempted,  he  is 
equally  certain  must  fail.  It  could  not  but  be  a 
source  of  satisfaction  to  yourself  during  the  remain- 
der of  your  life  to  feel  that  you,  as  the  head  of 
the  Department  of  Agriculture,  had  been  largely 
instrumental  in  the  introduction  of  this  new  industry, 
so  vital  to  the  real  independence  of  your  country. 
He  therefore  begs  leave  to  express  the  hope  that  your 
administration  will  be  signalized  in  our  history  as  the 
one  which  has  done  most  to  bring  about  this  great 
result. 

Very  respectfully  your  obedient  servant, 

LEWIS  S.  WARE. 

Philadelphia,  October  r,  1881. 


PREFACE. 

THE    OBJECT    OF    THIS    PAMPHLET    is    to    Call   public 
attention  to  the  importance    of   considering  a 
plausible  and  practical  cause,  and  not  theories 
long    since    thrown  aside    in    Europe.      We    refer  to 
cornstalk  and  sorghum  utilization,  and  the  impractica- 
bility of  their  ever  supplying  the  home  demand  with 
sugar. 

It  would  be  absurd  to  suppose  that  the  sugar 
cane,  when  to  be  used  for  sugar  manufacture,  can  be 
grown  at  the  North,  and  it  is  equally  ridiculous  to 
imagine  that  a  sub-variety  could  be  there  grown, 
as  experiments  have  long  since  proven  that  the  farther 
north  these  high  breeds  are  planted  the  less  sugar  they 
contain.  This,  as  one  might  suppose,  would  be  suffi- 
cient to  condemn  the  cultivation  named  ;  but,  notwith- 
standing, our  Government  has  spent  two  years  of  its 
time  and  money  upon  a  series  of  investigations  that 
have  proved  absolutely  nothing,  for  the  reasons  that 
sugar  in  no  practical  amount  has  ever  been  produced, 
and  the  small  quantity  obtained  was  the  result  of 
several  months'  crystallization.  This  last  fact  should 
have  been  sufficient  to  condemn  further  investigations. 
The  greater  number  of  samples  selected  at  Washing- 
ton were  grown  under  favorable  circumstances,  and 
the  results  obtained  should  not  be  compared  with 
those  that  might  have  resulted  from  canes  grown  by 
the  novice  in  the  Northern  and  New  England  States. 
(What  we  have  just  said  regarding  the  sorghum  might 
be  repeated  in  reference  to  the  early  amber  cane.) 
In  all  cases  it  should  be  remembered  that  the  sub- 


varieties  must  be  worked,  as  admitted  by  all  author- 
ities, within  twenty-four  hours  after  cutting.  Storage, 
consequently,  becomes  impossible.  The  time  of  manu- 
facturing is  reduced  to  comparatively  small  limits. 

As  for  the  possibilities  of  growing  the  sorghum, 
as  many  contend,  from  Texas  to  Maine,  we  fail  to 
see  the  truth  of  the  assertion.  Attempts  made  to 
grow  and  utilize  it  in  the  ^Southern  States  were  satis- 
factory, much  more  so  than  those  in  the  North.  But 
this,  again,  proves  in  a  positive  manner  the  fallacy  of 
the  supposed  Northern  sugar  cane.  We  are  convinced, 
however,  that  with  a  proper  selection  of  seed,  etc.,  its 
cultivation  may  be  made  compatible  with  the  southern 
climate,  which  the-  sugar  cane  is  not,  as  the  heat 
required  for  its  complete  maturity  is  less  than  for  the 
cane  from  which  it  originated.  In  regard  to  the  sugar 
cane  of  the  South,  we  would  say  that  it  is  obtained  from 
cuttings,  and  not  as  in  the  West  Indies  from  early 
sprouts  that  come  from  the  original  plant  after  being 
once  planted.  But  with  the  sorghum,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  seeds  are  grown  one  year,  and  planted  the 
next.  Many  argue  that  two  crops  may  be  obtained 
in  a  season.  If  this  were  practically  true,  the  sor- 
ghum would  be  of  immense  advantage  to  the  Southern 
sugar  planters,  but  is  worthless  under  all  other  circum- 
stances. We  have  endeavored,  in  the  following  pages, 
to  call  attention  to  an  acknowledged  principle  in  sugar 
manufacture  that  is  generally  overlooked  in  the  sor- 
ghum arguments.  In  conclusion  we  would  say,  that 
syrup  may  be  made  from  many  plants  that  are  sweet, 
or  contain  combined  with  them  any  amount  of  sac- 
charine substances  ;  but  this  molasses  or  syrup  does 
but  little  towards  the  supplying  of  the  home  demand 
with  sugar.  We  know  of  no  sorghum  sugar  being  prac- 
tically made  by  farmers  in  larger  quantities  than  per- 
haps a  few  ounces  at  a  time,  and  under  remarkable 

6 


circumstances  as  to  period  of  crystallization  and  per- 
centage of  juice  utilized. 

The  sorghum  reports  and  treatises  are  in  many 
respects  interesting.  As  a  study  of  botany  we  find, 
for  example,  how  the  seed  grows,  how  the  sugar  is 
formed,  etc.,  but  the  most  interesting  of  all  is  over- 
looked,— how  the  sugar  is  to  be  extracted.  In  theory, 
we  are  told  how  this  may  be  done.  Advice  is  given 
to  follow  closely  sugar-cane  methods,  but  no  practical 
results  are  mentioned.  In  the  subsequent  pages  we 
have  considered  every  source,  for  example,  water- 
melons, pumpkins,  white  and  sweet  potatoes,  etc., 
and  we  are  convinced  that  the  sugar  beet  alone  can 
supply  the  North  with  sugar,  and  it  is  the  only  profit- 
able Northern  sugar-yielding  plant.  We  trust  that  our 
readers  will  realize  this,  and  concentrate  their  efforts 
in  the  direction  indicated. 


SORGHUM  SUGAR. 

The  Sugar  from  Sorghum— Its  History,  etc. 

IN  the  prehistoric  ages  attempts  were  made  to  manu- 
facture sugar  from  sorghum.  In  the  histories  of 

Egypt,  Arabia, etc. .mention  is  made  of  the  Emphee 
and  African  types.  Of  these  we  have,  first,  the  early 
Sorgo  ;  second,  the  white  Emphee  (or  the  Nee-a-za-na), 
and  on  the  other  hand  the  black  Emphee;  also 
the  red  Emphee  (or  Shla-yoo-va)  and  the  Liberian. 
Besides  these  we  have  no  less  than  twenty  or  thirty 
other  varieties.  The  name  of  sorgo  was  given  in 
1542,  and  mention  is  made  of  its  having  existed  in 
the  East  Indies  during  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries.  Numerous  essays  were  written  by  the 
botanists  of  that  period  regarding  this  plant  and  its 
varieties ;  and  from  the  earliest  day  down  to  the 
present,  various  names  have  been  given,  as  Sorgo,  or 
Chinese  Sugar  Cane,  India  Cane,  Emphee,  or  Coffers' 
Bread,  Pain-des  Anye*,  etc. 

In  1850  Count  Montigny  sent  the  first  samples  of 
sorghum  of  a  Chinese  variety  to  Europe  (that  people 
having  used  it  for  thousands  of  years  for  the  manu- 
facture of  a  red  dye),  and  exhibited  it  to  the  Geographi- 
cal Society  in  Paris.  Seeds  were  subsequently  sold  to 
Vilmorin  &  Co.  at  twenty  cents  each  ;  and  some  of 
another  variety  were  brought  to  this  country  by 
Leonard  Wray,  an  English  gentleman.  The  type  he 

8 


introduced,  however,  was  of  an  African  origin,  and 
to  him  is,  in  part,  justly  due  the  foolish  experi- 
ments going  on  ever  since.  The  seeds  were  dis- 
tributed by  the  Patent  Office.  From  the  early  intro- 
duction down  to  the  present  day  numerous  books  and 
articles  have  been  written  on  this  subject  ;  promises 
without  number  have  been  made,  but  we  know  of  no 
case  where  these  were  fulfilled.  The  French  feared 
that  when  it  was  first  talked  of  it  would  compete  with 
the  sugar  beet,  but  subsequent  research  proved 
there  was  no  occasion  for  alarm.  Experiments,  how- 
ever, in  the  southern  part  of  Europe  were,  and  are 
still,  extremely  promising;  but  the  same  cannot  be 
said  of  the  northern  attempts  ;  and  it  has  been  con- 
cluded that  nothing  is  to  be  expected  of  sorghum 
north  of  Lisbon.  The  subject  has  long  since  been 
abandoned  in  France,  and  the  only  traces  of  it 
are  for  alcohol  manufacture.  It  seems  strange  that 
we  Americans  were  not  willing  to  avail  ourselves 
of  what  these  people  have  done,  but  must  continue 
nearly  in  the  same  paths,  as  we  have  been  doing, 
with  negative  results,  for  more  than  thirty  years. 
We  would  say  that  the  name  sorghum  is  a  mere 
disguise,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  nothing  more  nor 
less  than  a  sub-variety  of  sugar  cane,  which  may 
explain  why  it  is  that  the  reader  and  the  investigator 
have  so  frequently  been  misled.  In  consequence  of  the 
continual  crossing  but  two  principal  varieties  remain, 
the  Chinese  and  the  African  types. 


Crystallization  of  Sorghum  Sugar. 

Will  this  sugar  crystallize  in  a  reasonable  time  ? 
We  can  positively  say  that  it  will  not,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  impurities  the  juices  contain;  a 

9 


well-acknowledged  principle  in  sugar  manufacture* 
being,  that  every  equivalent  of  impurities,  whatever 
it  may  be,  will  prevent  an  equal  amount  of  crys- 
tals from  forming.f  Such,  in  reality,  is  one  of  the 
principles  generally  overlooked  by  those  interested 
in  sorghum  sugar.  Many  contend  that  the  sugar 
is  there,  and,  consequently  it  may  be  extracted,  but 
by  what  method  we  know  not.  On  the  other  hand 
a  well-known  writer  and  chemist  admits  that  these 
impurities  are  disadvantages  to  contend  with,  but 
when  they  are  removed,  the  problem  will  be  solved. 
But  what  solution  is  to  be  given  to  the  chemico- 
mechanical  difficulty  is  not  stated.  It  is  true  that  any 
sugar  solution  will  in  time  crystallize ;  but  if  two,  three 
or  four  months  are  required  for  it  to  take  place,  the 

*  It  has  long  since  been  admitted  that  impurities  includ- 
ing glucose  will  prevent  four  to  five  times  their  weight 
of  sugar  from  crystallizing.  In  the  Comptes  Rendus  de 
I  Academic  des  Sciences  of  1 873  ice  read  a  note  by  E.  Mon- 
nier  regarding  the  refining  of  crude  sugar.  He  says :  "To 
estimate  the  quantity  of  imcrystallized  or  inverted  sugar 
that  is  produced  in  the  operation  of  refining,  it  is  suffi- 
cient to  ascertain  exactly  the  amount  of  salts  or  ash 
the  molasses  contains,  and  to  multiply  this  by  a  proper 
coefficient  varying  from  four  to  five."  In  reference  to  the 
above  we  would  say  :  For  years  past  in  France  the  taxa- 
tion of  refined  sugars  has  been  estimated  upon  a  basis 
that  salts  prevent  the  sugar  from  crystallizing  to  an  amount 
equal  to  four  or  five  times  their  weight.  The  crystallization 
will  not  take  place  when  the  sugar  is  four  times  that  of 
the  salts.  No  allowance  has  been  made  .for  the  action  of 
organic  substances.  Some  salts  crystallize  simultaneously 
with  the  sugar,  and  become  then  even  more  objectionable 
than  if  they  had  simply  a  mechanical  action. 

f  The  above  is  a  mimimum  limit. 


10 


working  of  the  plant,  as  before  stated,  is  not  practical. 
Some  sorghum  sugar  was  exhibited  at  the  Ohio  State 
Fair,  about  five  years  ago,  that  required  an  entire  year 
for  its  crystallization  to  become  complete.  We  are 
informed,  on  the  other  hand,  that  upon  several  occa- 
sions samples  of  excellent  "  sorghum "  sugar  (as 
contended  by  the  interested  parties)  have  been 
exhibited,  which  were  said  to  have  been  obtained 
from  the  sorghum  plant,  but  were  nothing  more  than 
second  grades  of  cane-sugar.  This  evidently  had  the 
effect  of  misleading  the  public.  In  the  Agricultural 
Report  of  1877,  page  235,  a  description  is  given  of  a 
certain  process  partly  endorsed  by  our  Government. 
It  is  said  that  the  juice  of  any  permanent  variety  of 
sorghum  now  known  in  the  country  may  be  rapidly 
and  uniformly  crystallized. 

"  It  is  claimed  that  ten  pounds  of  sugar  may  be 
made  from  one  gallon  of  dense  syrup."  This  repre- 
sents twice  the  amount  admitted  as  possible  by  the 
growers  throughout  the  country.  Has  this  percentage 
of  sugar  by  this  new  process  ever  been  obtained  ?  We 
can  positively  say  that  it  has  not,  as  it  would  be  equal 
to  the  very  best  cane  grown  in  the  Southern  States. 

The  same  gentleman  claims  that  he  has  discov- 
ered a  body  possessing  the  remarkable  quality  of 
"  isolating  the  sugars  of  both  kinds  in  a  solution, 
sucrose  and  glucose,  and  protecting  them  as  by  an 
impenetrable  shield  against  the  action  of  the  forces  by 
which  the  other  deleterious  substances  are  either 
neutralized  or  destroyed."  The  defecation  of  the  juice 
is  no  longer  necessary.  By  this  process,  carbonic 
acid  need  not  be  used ;  the  animal  black,  conse- 
quently, need  be  but  in  very  small  quantities.  In 
other  words,  all  the  costly  outlay  existing  in  the 
cane  and  beet  process  are  done  away  with.  The 
sugar  has  nothing  left  in  its  way,  and  the  crystalli- 

ii 


zation  is  perfect.  What  could  be  more  ridiculous  and 
imaginary  than  the  above?  But,  notwithstanding, 
there  are  many  believers  who  are,  we  regret  to  say, 
sadly  misled.  It  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  not 
sufficient  to  see  crystals  under  the  microscope  to  be  able 
to  practically  extract  them,  as  there  is  a  vast  barrier 
to  overcome  before  obtaining  them  for  commercial 
purposes. 

As  regards  the  numerous  patents  that  have  had 
this  object  in  view, — or,  in  other  words,  the  facilitation 
of  crystallization, — they  have,  in  all  cases,  been  worth- 
less, and  in  a  few  years  they  have  been  a  direct  loss  of 
$400,000.  Not  one  of  them  has  accomplished  what 
was  promised.  These  were  not,  as  a  general  thing, 
original,  but  were  simply  a  slight  modification  of 
supposed  principles  long  since  known.  We  may  say, 
however,  in  defense  perhaps  of  the  well-meaning 
inventors,  that  they  have  confounded,  in  many  cases^ 
granulation  with  crystallization.  The  latter  is  essential 
for  cane  sugar.  The  crystal lizable  sugar  contained  in 
the  sorghum  plant  diminishes  as  it  matures,  which  is  a 
great  misfortune.  If  we  admit  that  the  proper  time 
is  seized  for  the  manufacture  of  sugar,  it  must  not 
be  forgotten  that  whatever  the  amount  is,  as  indicated 
by  the  polariscftpe,  it  does  by  no  means  follow  that  the 
same  is  expected  to  exist  in  the  syrup.  Consequently, 
in  this  transformation  we  have  a  loss  of  crystalli- 
zable  sugar,  and  another  loss  when  the  attempt  is 
made  at  granulation.  It  seems  strange  that  inves- 
tigators and  writers  upon  sorghum  and  its  utiliza- 
tion have  invariably  added  the  two  sugars, — cane 
sugar  (sucrose)  and  grape  sugar  (glucose).  (If  we  refer 
to  the  Agricultural  Reports  for  1862,  page  223,  fifteen 
analyses  of  sorghum  are  given,  and  examples  of  this 
adding  may  be  found.)  Why  the  addition  of  two  ele- 
ments— the  one  desirable,  and  the  other  not  ? 


12 


fail  to  see.  If  we  subtract  these  (after  having  added 
the  impurities  to  the  glucose),  as  should  have  been 
done  in  all  cases,  we  will  have  the  maximum  possible 
sugar.  In  nearly  every  case  it  will  be  found  that  the 
percentage  of  sugar  is  so  small  that  its  extraction  will 
be  practically  impossible.  Our  Government  published 
in  1878  a  special  report  upon  sorghum  sugar,  and  we 
had  the  pleasure  of  examining  the  same  with  every 
possible  care,  and  find  the  appliances  for  sorghum- 
sugar  manufacture  and  its  crystallization  are  completely 
forgotten.  It  is  true  that  several  machines  are  given 
which  enable  the  reader  to  form  a  clear  idea  of  the 
methods  adopted  by  the  Hindoos.  But  machines 
of  practical  value  of  modern  origin  for  the  crystalli- 
zation have  been  overlooked.  (Any  ordinary  vacuum 
pan  does  not  answer  the  purpose.) 

We  give  herewith  a  series  of  interesting  figures 
based  upon  experiments  made  in  Washington.  As 
may  be  noticed,  the  last  column  represents  the  maxi- 
mum (sucrose)  sugar  that  may  be  practically  extracted. 
This  is  obtained  by  the  simple*  method  before  men- 
tioned,— subtraction  of  the  sucrose  from  the  total 
impurities.  This  should  have  been  done  in  the  Gov- 
ernment publication  just  mentioned. 


*  In  reference  to  the  above,  we  would  say,  that  in  many  cases  the  solids,  not 
sugar,  are  omitted,  we  know  not  why.  This  would  make  the  results  still  more 
unfavorable. 


MISCELLANEOUS  SORGHUMS. 


Date 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Sept. 
Oct. 

Aug. 

17 

ii 

17 

1  1 

ii 

23 

Variety. 

*^j 

Egyptian  corn 

*$!*$ 

•  i  v  *-     ^  "- 

84  4.i  4.5 

37       2.7         7.7 
05       3-1          i-4 
5i          -8         3-7 
88       2.7         3.7 
oo       1.9          8.7 

i 

tu 
s 
"^5 

•3 

4.94! 

3-07 

o.oo 
5-15 

13-31 
7-58 
8.9 

[l 

o 

4-63 
o 

o 
o 

Fodder          _                                                  2 

Brown  doura                                                12 

Brown  doura  .                                            ]    4. 

White   doura 

White    doura. 

Corn 

48         ^6 

Corn 

3  4         6-7 



LIBERIAN. 

Date. 

| 

S 
t 

Development. 

G 

i 

Average  per  cent,  glucose 
in  juice. 

Average  per  cent,  sucrose 
in  juice. 

Total  impurities. 

sJ 

1 

e-s 

July 
Aug. 

Sept. 

Oct. 

Nov. 

Sept. 
Oct. 

18 
26 
7 

ii 

iC 

20 
22 
26 

3° 

8 

13 
15 
20 
27 

3 

21 
1 

17 

I 
S 
•-'4 

Flower-stalk  just  out  and  compact  
Flower-stalk  spreading  ;  seed  milky__      i 
Flower-stalk   more    spreading  ;    seed 
milky 

1.14 
o.oo 

7.80 

8.36 
10.03 
9-73 
10.59 

3°       3-5         4-7 

4.80 

3-20 
4-54 
3-77 
4-57 
3.81 

14       2.4       12.9 
77       2.0    '  13.8 
27       1.3       14.3 
3*       i-5       M-4 

Seed  harder                                                i     i. 

Seed  as  before                                  _             2. 

Seed  almost  dry                                             i 

21       1.4       13.7 

2.81 

I.OO 

10.23 

•55 
6.07 
2.29 
2.48 
3-84 
4-3° 
4-59 
5.58 
6.65 

\ 
6.79 
8-55 
6.65 
3.10 

10.09 
ii.  20 
o.oo 
o.oo 
6.53 
11.96 
12.72 
11.31 
9-75 
7.21 
8.32 
3-95 

o.oo 
o  oo 
o.oo 

13.90 

Ripe  ;  seed  dry                                          _     9 

48         .75       8.35 

Ripe  •  seed  carried  off  by  birds 

42         .65     12.6 
49         -8       1425 
53         -95     15-2 
74       i.i       14-15 
35         -95     I4-°5 
49       LI       ii.  8 

48           2.1           13-9 

65       4.0       10.6 

i 

74  :     6  05       6.2 

i     8  55       8  50 

Ripe  and  dry                                                  i 

Ripe  and  dry  ;  largely  suckered  i 
Ripe  and  dry;  largely  suckered  2 
Ripe  and  dry  ;  juices  bright  red  3 
Juices  bright  red                                              3 

Leaves  killed  by  frost                                  3 

Quite  dead                                                       2 

FOREIGN. 

Seed  just  brown  ;  not  in  milk__  ._    

Brown  and  in  milk 

6.65 

MISCELLANEOUS  SORGHUMS. 


Date. 


Variety 


Sept. 


Oct. 


9  !  Gunnison  - 
9  I  Gunnison 
16  ;  Gunnison 
Gunnison 
Gunnison 
Mastodon  _ . 

Imphee 

Black  top 

Oomseeana 


27 


EARLY   AMBER. 


g 

sg, 

^ 

c 

C?i 

s 

1 

£ 

CO 

1 

J* 

. 

3 

. 

5    50 

6  v 

I 

"S 

Dat 

e. 

Z)eve/opmgn£. 

!§ 

HI 

Is  i 

•"~ 

C3 

"1 

as 
&> 

al 

S 
sa. 

a. 
s 

1 

1 

1 

"c 

s 

•I 

1 

1 

1 

g 

1 

July 

18 

Flower-stalks  just  out  ;   compact  

2.35 

3-77 

4-43 

6.12 

o.oo 

Aug. 

26 
7 

Flower-stalks  begun  to  spread  
Flower-stalks  spreading;  seed  milky  . 

2.53 
1-56 

2-97 

7.85 
11.15 

5.67 

4-53 

2.18 
6.62 

»< 

ii 

Seed  browning  •  harder 

1.43 

2.36 

13.78 

3  79 

Q  OO 

;; 

16 
20 

22 

Seed  harder  ;  stalk  puckering    _. 
Seed  harder  ;  stalk  puckering    _. 
Seed  nearly  dry,  but  crushable  _  . 
Seed  hard,  but  splitable 

1.  12 

I.OO 

3-25 

i.54 
i.  60 
1.48 

14.67 

14-13 
14.78 

2.86 
2-54 
4.85 
1.48 

y.yy 

"•39 
12.13 
9.28 
13.30 

i< 

26 

Seed  hard   but  splitable 

x  '3^- 

*4-45 

I    oi 

I  7    I<1 

« 

3° 

Core  of  cane  turning  red 

2.47 

1.33 

14.72 

3.80 

1  J-  1'T 

10.92 

Sept. 

12 

Ripe;  seed  dry  and  mostly  gone  
Ripe;  seed  carried  away  entirely- 

9-77 
2.28 

•7 
.6 

8-45 

10.47 

2.88 

0.00 
1.87 

" 

12 

Ripe  and  dry  ;  carried  away  by  birds 

3-53 

•7 

14.4 

4-23 

0.17 

<* 

16 

Ripe  and  dry 

2.16 

.65 

2.81 

« 

22 

Ripe  and  dry 

2.27 

.7 

Its5 

2.97 

3-x4 
1.83 

Oct. 

3 

Ripe  and  dry 

2.45 

T  .1 

14.4 

o    c  c 

0.85 

13 

Ripe  and  dry 

.7 

15.8 

j1  JJ 

.  7 

« 

20 

Ripe  and  dry 

4  12 

•95 

^-5-  75 

5-^7 

o  68 

^ 

20 

Leaves  killed  by  frost 

3.08 

1.  1 

17  O 

4.18 

2.82 

Nov. 

§ 

Quite  dead 

3-47 

4*3 

A  /.<J 

7-  77 

2   ?8 

FOREKiN. 

z  .  /o 

Sept. 

II 

Brown  husks  full  of  milk  (D.  Smith). 

4.06 

3-2 

12.  1 

7  26 

4.84 

*< 

TO 

Just  browning  (Hutchinson) 

I     7O 

n    C 

1  ^ 

" 

*  J 

17 

Between  hull  and  dough  (D.  Smith)__ 
In  dou^h  (  Hutchinson) 

IE 

JO 

3-35 
2.8=; 

JO 

12.25 

10.  « 

5.2O 

5-67 

7    cr  T 

6.'  58 

T    0/1 

PEARL   MILLET. 


Date. 

cr   ^>            5i 

^   2* 

-'?     •& 
Development*                    Vl 

||    1' 

i      i 

s  i  ssi    1    i 

i'\$  If 

k   i  I 

Sept.   10 

"          10 

"      16 

"      Z9 
25 
"      29 
Oct.       4 

"      20 
"      29 

Oct.    24 

6    '     3.7         i.  60       2.10 
~)         1.9          1.  60       0.30 
8         7-3         3-87  ,     3-57 
5         7-o         4-53  ;     2.47 
i         8.7         2.39       6.31 
2:96         1.61  i     7.99 
3       10.1         4.00       6.10 

D           H.03           4.00           7.30 

o    !     6.7         6.45  ;    0.25 
4    ]     7.4         8.78       o.oo 

5       11.7     >     6.44       5.26 

Stamens  fallen                                            j 

No  change  in  appearance                            3-°3 

Dry  tops  •  suckering                                        .41 

Dry  tops  ;  suckers  well  developed  _.      2.70 

FOREIGN. 

Withered                                                    .      5.94 

HONDURAS. 

Date. 

lli    I 

'  g'=      .5 

I?  !    !; 

Development.                        ^  £  !   §, 

&S>     "5l' 

i;  i 

r  1 

oj  onus. 

Per  cent,  sucrose  in  juice 
of  lops. 

Total  impurities. 
Maximum  practical  sugar. 

Aug.    12 

19 
29 

Sept.    10 
"      10 

"      25 
29 
Oct.       4 

14 

20 
"         29 

Nov.     8 

Sept.    17 
Oct.       i 
8 
24 
24 

Sept.   30 
Oct.     15 

No  sign  of  flower-stalk  •  cane  7  ft.  high                  6. 

2              1.7              6.2              0.00 
O       \       2.2              5.O              O.OO 

i          4.0          5.1          o.oo 

O       ;       6.2              4.0       ',       2.  2O 
I               7.9              4.1        i       3.80 

o          8.9          4.81  j     4.19 

I        '•       8.5              5.76          2.74 

8        9.4        4.92       4.48 
3       10.6         4.01  \     6.59 
5       13.0         5.20  j     7.80 
8     ;  14.6         3.35     11.25 
4        14.9          6.50       8.40 
9       15.0         3.92     11.08 
1       13-4     '     4-99       8.41 

7         3.6          7.05       o.oo 
4         3.4       11.40       o.oo 
i          5.6         8.72       o.oo 
5        13.0         6.50       7.34 
4         7.1     ••     8.14       3.00 

i         3.1          7.10       o.oo 
8     ;     4.5         8.80       o.oo 

Stamens  just  fallen  ;  no  milk  ^                               4. 

In  first  rfiilk;  browning   _.                             .81       4. 

Full  milk                                                          1.  12       3. 

Full  milk                                                            -71       3- 

Dough                                                          '     i  .  70       3  . 

Harder                                                             5.10       i. 

Harder:  leaves  dead  2.02       i. 
Quite  dead                                                       1.89       3. 

FOREIGN.  —  L>.  SMITH. 

Not  brown  nor  milky  ;  heads  well  out     1.35       5 

Shorter  and  more  stalky  and  riper__.      1.74       6 

ARSENAL. 

Seeks  not  filled  out                                       _     _        7 

16 


CHINESE. 


Dot 

e. 

Development. 

Average  per  cent,  solids, 
not  sugar,  in  juice. 

Average  per  cent,  glu- 
cose. 

Average  per  cent,  su- 
crose. 

Total  impurities. 

Total  practical  sugar. 

\ug. 

6 

Flower-stalk  just  out  •  compact 

5-55 

1.85 

5.55 

o.oo 

6 

6  23 

< 

12 

Seeds  beginning  to  brown 

.89 

4.6 

6.3 

5-49 

0.80 

i 

ig 

Seeds  browner 

T    36 

5  25 

6*5 

6.61 

t 

8  75 

Sept. 

rf 

Seeds  still  green  in  parts  and  milky 

6.37 

< 

O 

Seeds  nearly  gone 

2.O 

13.75 

2.OO 

11.75 

t 

27 

Seeds  nearly  gone 

.48 

14.50 

Oct 

8  03 

14 

Dry  and  ripe 

2.21 

i  6 

15  05 

3.81 

11.24 

< 

14  85 

Nov. 

29 

Dry,  and  leaves  killed  by  frost  

2.83 

1.85 
3  8 

13-15 

4-58 

6  20 

8.47 

Sept 

FOREIGN. 

2   08 

6  3 

69 

8  38 

X7 

Seed  just  browning  (D.  Smith)  

.98 

7-3 

6.7 

8.18 

0.00 

Oct. 

8 

Seed  in  douch 

8.s 

8.8 

8.50 

0.70 

With  miscellaneous  sorghums  five  out  of  six  would,  if 
manufactured,  yield  no  practical  sugar,  the  remaining 
one  4.63  per  cent.,  which  is  extremely  small.  The 
Liberian  tests  were  twenty-four  in  all ;  six  of  these 
would  give  zero  sugar,  etc.  The  other  series  of  mis- 
cellaneous sorghums  were  better  as  to  results  than  the 
first,  but  the  difference  is  not  sufficient  to  justify  any 
encouragement.  The  early  amber,  on  the  other  hand, 
three  out  of  twenty-four  would  give  zero ;  with  the 
pearl  millet,  three  out  of  eleven.  The  Honduras  was 
exceptionally  worthless  ;  eight  out  of  twenty-one  would 
give,  as  a  maximum,  if  worked,  zero  sugar. 

The  Chinese,  sorghum,  eight  out  of  seventeen, 
would  give  zero  percentage  of  sugar.  We  append  a 
table  in  which  is  given  a  synopsis  of  a  hundred  and 
eleven  experiments  above  referred  to,  where  is  shown 
the  possible  maximum  practical  sugar  to  be  expected 
from  the  said  hundred  and  eleven  experiments. 

17 


SYNOPSIS   OF   EXPERIMENTS   AT  WASHINGTON. 


POSSIBLE    MAXIMUM    SUGAR. 


O  ;rH     (M     CO 


Ji1!  „ 
&  v£  S'fe  sit  El*  £  felt! 

;  ss,  a •  ss,  a  a,  ?^!  a:  a,:  e, ,  a,!  a  a 
i>  'oo  \a>  !o  [jj'w  co 


Total  of 
Experiments. 


! 

iH 

•"• 

r-i  jrt 

Miscellan's  sorghums   i   5' 

Liber  ian             _       _     _    6|  i 

T 

i 

7 

7 

3 

Miscellaneous                  '  i  • 

Early  amber_ 

7 

T 

T 

7 

7 

^ 

3 

2    3 

Pearl  millet                         3 

Honduras                          !  g: 

7 

IT 

7 

T 

0 

? 

7 

Chinese                              '  81  i 

Total.                         !3s|  2 

7 

4 

5 

i 

6 

II 

6 

4 

9 

10 

4    6 

6 
24 

8 

23plusi(i  ofisper 
cent,  of  sugar.) 


I7 
in 


One,  two,  three,  or  four  per  cent,  of  sugar  would  not  possibly  pay  for  work- 
ing. Consequently,  we  would  have  fifty-three  samples  yielding  no  sugar,  which 
represent  more  than  half  of  all  tested.  If  an  average  be  taken  of  the  one  hundred 
and  eleven  experiments,  it  will  be  found  to  be  4.5  per  cent,  of  practical  sugar.  This 
already  proves  the  problem  to  be  impossible. 

As  may  be  noticed,  thirty-five  of  them  would  yield 
zero.  If  we  take  the  average  of  the  hundred  and 
eleven  experiments  we  find,  as  a  yield  4.5  per  cent., 
which  result  cannot  possibly  be  practically  ac- 
cepted. In  other  words  our  Government  experiments, 
notwithstanding  the  favorable  conditions  under  which 
they  were  made,  prove  that  the  sorghum  utilization 
is  a  fallacy  in  every  sense  of  the  word.  If  this 
question  of  glucose  be  considered  in  comparison  with 
the  beet,  all  arguments  are  in  favor  of  the  latter, 
for  the  reason  that  no  evidence  of  glucose  is  apparent 
in  analyzing  beet  juices.  Such  are  truths  perhaps  not 
entirely  agreeable  to  those  interested  in  the  sorghum 
cultivation,  yet  we  consider  it  our  duty  to  call  atten- 
tion to  it;  and  we  will,  in  all  circumstances,  lose  no 
opportunity  in  bringing  our  views  before  farmers 
and  capitalists  in  general.  In  conclusion  we  would 
say  that  it  is  advisable  for  farmers  to  realize  the  above, 
and  not  spend  their  money  upon  patents  that  are 
worthless.  If  sorghum  is  to  be  grown  for  its  syrup, 
or  as  a  fodder,  it  will  evidently  render  excellent  ser- 

18 


vice  ;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  these  trials  will  end 
there,  and  that  further  attempts  will  be  abandoned. 


The  More  Recent  Sorghum  Investigations  of  1880. 

It  was  presumable  that  the  more  recent  investi- 
gations would  bring  to  light  new  ideas  and  methods. 
In  reference  to  these,  we  would  say  that  the 
experiments  made  during  the  month  of  October 
were  by  no  means  successful,  as  declared  by  the 
practical  sugar  chemist.  An  explanation  of  this  was, 
the  hurried  erection  of  the  mill,  breaking  of  the 
bagasse  knife,  and  frost  in  the  field  rendering  sorghum 
samples  worthless.  Open  pans  were  tried  and  aban- 
doned ;  evaporation  in  vacuum  pans  was  the  only 
remedy,  and  sugar  in  very  small  quantities  was  made. 
The  remaining  syrup  was  sent  to  the  Wilmington  Beet 
Sugar  Factory,  where  several  hundred  additional 
pounds  of  sugar  were  extracted.  This  was  worth 
about  five  cents  per  pound  instead  of  eight  cents,  as 
obtained  from  the  beet  in  Delaware ;  it  had  a  green- 
ish color  and  a  disagreeable  taste,  judging  from  sam- 
ples that  we  saw  and  tasted.  On  the  other  hand, 
white  sugar  may  be  made  from  the  beet  direct.  In 
the  same  preliminary  report,  published  in  February, 
1 88 1,  an  account  is  given  of  one  hundred  experi- 
ments made  in  Alabama,  Arkansas,  California,  Con- 
necticut, Rhode  Island,  Dakotah  Territory,  Georgia, 
Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Kentucky,  Louisiana, 
Michigan,  Minnesota,  Mississippi,  Missouri,  Nebraska, 
New  York,  North  Carolina,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  South 
Carolina,  Tennessee,  Texas,  Utah,  Virginia,  West 
Virginia,  Wisconsin,  and  only  in  one  case  a  pound  of 
sugar  was  made,  and  this  was  in  Missouri.  We  would 
say,  however,  that  one  thoughtful  planter  estimates 
the  value  per  pound  if  the  sugar  had  been  made. 

19 


In  this,  like  all  other  cases,  the  want  of  facilities 
was  the  main  and  principal  excuse  for  not  obtaining 
sugar. 

In  June  of  1881,  Mr.  Le  Due's  second  sorghum 
pamphlet  appeared.  This  gives  3,601  analyses  made 
during  1880.  The  various  stages  of  the  growth  of  the 
sorghum  are  graphically  represented.  The  hybrid 
grown  in  California  was,  however,  omitted,  for  rea- 
sons not  explained.  We  have,  with  considerable  care, 
measured  from  the  graphical  plates,  at  intervals  of  ten 
days  (during  the  entire  investigation),  the  amount  of 
practical  sugar  possible  to  obtain  from  these  various 
varieties.  This  has  been  tabulated. 

SYNOPSIS    OF    EXPERIMENTS    AT    WASHINGTON, 
in   188O. 

Table  No.  1. — Early  Amber,  Virginia. 


Number  of  experiments, 
Percentage  of  practical  sugar,    I    0 


5    |    i    I    Total,  12. 

9     10   I  AVERAGE  6. 


Table  No.  2.— Early  Amber,  Missouri. 

Number  of  experiments,     -  112314 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,        045 


Number  of  experiments,     -     -     - 
Percentage  of  practical  sugar,  -     - 


Table  No.  3.— Early  Golden,  Minnesota 
I    «    I    «     I     5     h 


0        6         7 


Total,  13. 
AVERAGE  6. 


Total,  ii. 

AVERAGE  5. 


Table  No.  4.— Golden  Syrup,  Ohio. 


Number  of  experiments, 
Percentage  of  practical  sugar,  - 


Total,  n. 

AVERAGES. 


Table  No.  5.—  While  Libcnan,  Virginia. 


, 

1 

T       1 

um  er  o    expenmen  s, 

' 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,     - 

0 

4 

9 

IO 

» 

AVERAGE?, 

20 


Table  No.  6.— Early  Amber,  Kansas. 


Number  of  experiments,     - 
Percentage  of  practical  sugar,  -     - 


Table  No.  1.— Black  Top,  South  Carolina. 


Number  of  experiments,     -  211 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,  -  0         5         8        9    I  10 

Table  No  8— African,  Kentucky. 

Number  of  experiments,     -  I    3    I    i    I    2    I    i         3 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,  -  06789 

Table  No.  9 .  —  WJiite  Mammoth,  Missouri. 


Total,  12. 

AVERAGES, 

Total,  ii. 

AVERAGE?. 


Number  of  experiments,     -  21121 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,        0    I    4    I    5    I    7    I  10 

Table  No.  W.—Onmseea-na,  Ohio. 


Number  of  experiments, 


Percentage  of  practical  sugar, 


Table  No.  \\.-Rfgular  Sorghum.  Ohio. 
Number  of  experiments,    -  2 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar, 

Table  No.  VI.— Hybrid,  Tennessee. 
Number  of  experiments,     - 


Percentage  of  practical  sugar, 


0 


Total,  ii. 

AVERAGES. 

I    Total,  n. 

|  AVERAGE?. 

I    Total,  12. 

|  AVERAGES. 

I    Total, "ii. 

I  AVERAGES. 

Total,  ii. 

AVERAGES. 


lab'e  No.  13—  Sugar  Cane,  Iowa. 

Number  of  experiments,    -  413 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,    -  --       I    0    I    8    I  10    I  I 

Tablr.  No.  14.  —  Ooomseeana,  South  Carolina. 


Total,  10. 

AVERAGES, 


Number  of  experiments, 


Percentage  of  practical  sugar,     -          0         5 


I    i         3         i        Total,  10. 


AVERAGES. 


T'ible  No.  \5.—Neeasana,Ohio. 


Number  of  experiments,     -  4 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,     -          0 


I    Total,  10. 

I  AVERAGE4. 


21 


Table  No.  16.— Goose  Neck,  Missouri. 


Number  of  experiments,     -  I    4    I    i 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,     -          06 


Table  No.  17. — Early  Orange,  Hfissouri. 
Number  of  experiments,     ---          42112 


i        Total,  12. 


Percentage  of  practical  sugar,     -          67 


9       10 


Table  No.  \8.—Neeasana,  Ohio. 

Number  of  experiments,    -  4124 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,     -  0479 

Table  No.  19.— New  Variety,  Tennessee. 


Number  of  experiments, 
Percentage  of  practical  sugar, 


9       I0 


Table  No.  20.— Chimera,  Virginia. 

Number  of  experiments,     -.-  21211 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,     -      I    0    I    i    I    5    I    7    I    8 

Table  No.  21.—  Wolf  Tail,  Tennessee. 
Number  of  experiments,     --  21111 


Percentage  of  practical  sugar,     -      I    0         5         6 


Table  No.  22.— Gray  Top,  Tennessee. 

Number  of  experiments,     -  I    2    I    3    I    i    I    i    I    2 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,     -          64789 

Table  No.  2S.—Liberian,  Ohio. 


AVERAGES. 


Total,  12. 

AVERAGES. 


Total,  12. 

AVERAGES, 


i        Total,  10. 

"    |  AVERAGES. 

3        Total,  10. 

9   |  AVERAGES, 

3    |    Total,  9. 

10   I  AVERAGES. 


Total,  ii. 


AVERAGES. 


Number  ol  experiments,     -  I    2    I    i    I    i 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,     -          0    |    3    I    4        &    I    9    | 


lableNo.  24.—Liberian.  Ohio. 


Number  of  experiments, 


I'M 


Total,  ii. 

AVERAGES. 


Total,  ii. 


Percentage  of  practical  sugar,        02|034|68J9        AVERAGE  5- 

22 


Table  No.  25  —Oomseeana,  Tennessee. 


Number  of  experiments, 


Total,  10. 


Percentage  of  practical  sugar,        023589 


10      AVERAGES, 


Table  No.  26— Sumac,  Alabama. 
Number  of  experiments,         2111 
Percent,  of  pract'l  sugar,    I   0    I    3    I    4    I    5    I 


211        Total,  10. 


9       10 


AVERAGES. 


Table  No.  27. — Mastadon,  South  Carolina. 


Number  of  experiments, 
Percentage  of  practical  sugar, 


Table  No.  '28—Imphee,  South  Carolina. 

Number  of  experiments,        2Tii2|i|i 
Percent,  of  pract'l  sugar,       0|2J3478|9 

Table  No.  29.— New  Variety. 


Total,  10. 


AVERAGES. 


Total,  ii. 

AVERAGES, 


Number  of  experiments,         3111112 
Percent,  of  pract'l  sugar,        01245! 


Table  No.  30.— Sumac,  Alabama. 


Number  of  experiments, 
Percentage  of  practical  sugar, 


6         8       10 


Total,  ii. 

AVERAGE  4, 


Total,  ii. 

AVERAGES, 

Total,  12. 

AVERAGE  1, 


Table  No.  3U— Honduras,  District  of  Columbia. 
Number  of  experiments,     -  61122 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,     -  .    0         i     |    3         4         5 

Tab^e  No  32. — Honey  Cane,  Louisiana. 

Number  of  experiments,     -  412122        Total,  12. 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,     -      |    0         2         3         6         57        AVERAGES. 

Table  No.  ZZ.—Sprangle  Top,  Alabama. 

Number  of  experiments,     -  411141        Total,  12. 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,     -      I    0         i    I    2         4         5         rt    I    AVERAGE  2, 


Table  No.  34.— Honduras,  Tennessee. 
Number  of  experiments,     - 


112        Total,  i< 


Percentage  of  practical  sugar,     -      |    0    |    i     |    2    |    3    |    5    |    6    |    AVERAGE  2. 
Table  No.  35.— Honey  Top  or  Texas  Cane,  Missouri. 


Number  of  experiments,    -  5    \    *    |    -  |     I     \    Total,  10. 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar,    -  |    0    |    3    |     5  |    6  AVERAGE  2. 

Table  No  36.—Hondtiras,  Texas. 

Number  of  experiments,     -  4         i         i         i         2  |     i  Total,  10. 

Percentage  of  practical  sugar.     -  |o|2J3|4|5J6  AVERAGE  2. 

Table  No.  3~.—Suflar  Cane,  Illinois. 

Number  of  experiments,     -  ^          i          3         2         4  Total,  13. 


Percentage  of  practical  sugar, 


AVERAGE  2, 


Table  No.  38.— Hybrid,  Colorado* 

Number  of  experiments,      -         45         772121        Total,  65. 
Percentage  of  practical  sugar,    |    0    |     i     |    2    |    3    |    4    |     5    |    6    |    AVERAGED. 

By  many  it  may  be  argued  that  the  averages  of 
all  the  stages  is  not  just,  as  sugar  is  to  be  manu- 
factured when  the  most  desirable  period  arrives  ;  but 
in  answer  to  this  we  would  say  that  that  period  is  of 
very  short  duration  ;  and  as  no  allowance  has  been 
made  for  it,  it  is  but  just  to  permit  the  first  periods  of 
sugar  formation  to  enter  as  a  factor  into  our  calcula- 
tions. We  have,  in  all  cases,  neglected  the  fractions, 
for  the  reason  they  would  not  materially  change  the 
results.  As  may  be  noticed,  these  varieties  were  prin- 
cipally grown  at  the  South,  which  evidently  had  a 
tendency  to  lead  to  better  results  than  if  at  the  North. 

The  average  of  these  thirty-eight  varieties  and  four 
hundred  and  seventeen  experiments  is  4.8  per  cent, 
this  is  considerably  higher  than  it  would  have  been  if  we 


*  We  were  unable  to  deduct  the  above  from  the  graphical  plates  for  the  reason 
that  it  is  not  given,  but  we  have  taken  the  average  of  sixty-five  experiments, 

24 


had  taken  the  averages  of  all  the  four  thousand  experi- 
ments made  upon  sorghum  by  the  Agricultural  Depart- 
ment in  1880.  These,  as  given  by  them,  would  rep- 
resent an  average  of  3.3  per  cent,  (see  Table  A),  which 
evidently  condemns  this  as  a  sugar-yielding  plant. 

TABLE.A. 

General  averages  for  stages,  as  determined  from  the  results  from  the  same  stage  for 
ajl  varieties  of  sorghum. 

Number  of  experiments,     -         620113411        Total,  19. 
Percentage  of  practical  sugar,  |  0    |i|2|3|4|5|6       7       8      AVERAGE  3.3 


American  Production  of  Supposed  Sorghum  Sugar. 

If  we  were  to  listen  to  the  sayings  of  thousands 
of  believers  in  the  sorghum  fallacy,  sorghum  sugar 
has  long  since  been  manufactured  in  the  United  States 
in  paying  quantities.  Some  of  the  Eastern  States 
manufacture  thousands  of  pounds  yearly  ;  one  factory 
is  now  working  on  a  practical  basis  as  to  profit ;  all  of 
which  leaves  the  problem  no  longer  a  doubt  in  the 
minds  of  the  masses  of  our  population.  This  sugar  is 
of  an  excellent  quality,  and  sold  at  eight  cents  per 
pound ;  one  million  pounds  are  produced  yearly,  etc. 
In  answer  to  this  we  would  say,  that  no  such  evidence 
appears  in  the  Agricultural  Reports.  The  supposed 
production  of  sorghum  sugar  from  1861  to  1877  is 


25 


SUPPOSED  YEARLY  SORGHUM  SUGAR  MANUFAC- 
TURED  IN    THE   UNITED   STATES.* 


i86i 80,400  Ibs.    1870 

1862 i37,43o 

1863 183,795 

1864 208,300 

1865 280,330 

1866 511,565 

1867 140,658 

1868 200,676 

1869 224,000 


U.S. 


1872 172,995 

1873 ___i84,23o 

1874 182,050 

1875 108,840 

1876 97,420 

1877 80,760 


as  shown  after  twenty  years'  agitation,  kept  up 
by  those  directly  interested  in  sorghum  machinery. 
The  total  amount  produced,  if  it  be  actual,  was 
the  same  in  1877  as  in  1861,  or,  in  other  words, 
80,760  pounds.  (This  represents  40,000  pounds 
less  than  was  obtained  at  the  Delaware  Beet  Sugar 
Factory,  which  worked  but  thirty  days,  under  very 
unfavorable  circumstances.)  These  figures  also  show 
that  there  has  been  a  continual  decrease  in  the  pro- 
duction during  the  last  ten  years  of  this  supposed 
sorghum  sugar  for  the  entire  United  States.  Of  the 
important  States  producing  sugar  and  syrup,  we  may 
mention  Ohio  and  Iowa.  The  total  area  devoted  to  the 
said  culture  in  Ohio  was  30,872  acres  in  1862,  and  9,426 
in  1872,  proving  a  decline  of  two-thirds  in  ten  years. 
The  sugar  supposed  to  have  been  obtained  was, 
however,  greater  by  10,000  pounds,  notwithstanding 
diminished  area  devoted  to  its  cultivation,  proving  how 
little  reliance  is  to  be  placed  upon  the  figures  above 
given.  In  1862  and  1866  the  area  devoted  to  it  in 
Iowa  was  37,607  and  25,796,  showing  a  decline  in  the 
interest  in  sorghum  in  those  years,  possibly  owing  to 
the  war,  etc.  Even  if  the  interest  had  increased  during 

*  The  above  table  is  taken  from  the  Government  Agricultural  Report.  We  had 
hoped  completing  it,  but  give  the  task  up  in  despair,  as  we  have  written  letter  upon 
letter  to  the  Agricultural  Department,  at  Washington,  which,  instead  of  answering 
our  question  as  to  the  total  production  of  sorghum  sugar  in  1878,  1879,  J88o,  sends 
in  reply  the  sorghum  reports  above  referred  to,  in  which  the  data  was  not  given.  This 
evidently  proves  that  the  term  SUPPOSED  (that  we  make  use  of)  are  not  exaggera- 
tions. 

26 


the  same  time,  it  would  not  have  proved  that  the 
problem  has  been  solved,  and  that  there  was  in 
the  future  any  prospect  of  the  sub-variety  find- 
ing an  industrial  application  as  a  home  sugar  plant. 
In  the  Agricultural  Report  of  1867,  page  78,  we  read 
the  following,  which  is  true  :  "  Sorghum  has  suffered 
a  natural  decline  for  several  years,  which  has  continued 
causing  despondency  to  producers."  Many  gentlemen, 
however,  of  good  faith  in  years  gone  by,  thought  they 
obtained  sorghum  sugar,  which  we  have  great  reasons 
to  believe  was  not  the  case.  Mr.  J.  S.  Levering,  in 
1857,  published  some  startling  accounts  as  to  results 
from  sorghum,  with  a  similar  sub-variety  of  sugar  cane 
grown  in  Pennsylvania.  But  if  there  had  been  no 
mistake  as  to  results,  why  are  these  not  put  into  prac- 
tice to-day,  now  that  the  country  is  so  much  interested  ? 
and  why  should  they  have  been  confined  to  the  early 
stages  of  sorghum  introduction,  when  but  little  or 
nothing  was  known  concerning  it  ?  We  regret  that  our 
ex-Commissioner  of  Agriculture,  Mr.  Le  Due,  who  had 
this  home  sugar  problem  so  much  at  heart,  should  have 
been  infatuated  with  a  sample  of  sorghum  sugar  exhib- 
ited at  the  Minnesota  State  Fair  in  1877,  and  from 
that  time  have  abandoned  a  practical  idea  for  a  theo- 
retical one,  which  up  to  the  present  day  has  amounted 
to  nothing.  We  read  in  his  report  for  1877,  page  229: 
"We  cannot  reasonably  hope  to  find  in  beet  culture  a 
sure  compensation  for  diminished  cane  crop."  We 
beg  to  know  why.  Is  it  because  inexperienced  hands 
have  led  to  poor  results  ?  Is  it  because  we  have 
experimented,  rather  than  adhered  to  conclusions 
long  since  determined  in  Europe?  Would  not  the 
results  obtained  at  the  Delaware  Beet  Sugar  Factory 
in  1880,  if  they  had  had  a  longer  duration,  given  a 
practical  hint  as  to  possibility  of  finding  in  the  beet  a 
sure  compensation  for  the  diminished  cane  crop  ? 

27 


Have  the  sorghum  sugar  results  ever  led  to  any  rea- 
sonable hopes  of  such  accomplishment  outside  of  the 
laboratory  experiments,  which  prove  absolutely  noth- 
ing? 

If  we,  on  the  other  hand,  admit  that  Mr.  Lover- 
ing's  statements  are  correct,  and,  also,  that  the  most 
recent  data  upon  sorghum  has,  at  least,  some  truth, 
the  problem  is  not  even  then  practical,  and  cannot 
compete  with  the  sugar  beet.  We  will  make  a  few 
calculations  based  upon  Government  sorghum  figures, 
and  compare  these  results  with  those  beet-sugar  results 
already  obtained.  We  give  herewith  the  number  of 
gallons  of  sorghum  syrup  obtained  from  an  acre  in 
several  States  of  the  Union ;  and,  as  shown,  the 
average  yield  is  128  gallons;  the  average  value,  fifty 
cents  per  gallon. 

As  to  the  cost  of  a  cultivation  of  sorghum  per 
acre,  we  quote  from  a  recent  book  upon  so-called 
Northern  sugar  cane  as  follows  : 

Preparation  of  the  soil  for  planting, _     $2  oo 

Planting  seed, i  <x> 

Working  through  twice  with  one-horse  plow, 2  oo 

Hoeing  and  thinning  four  times, •      4  oo 

Stripping  blades,  one  hand  four  days, 4  oo 

Topping  cane  one  and  a  half  days, i  50 

Cutting  and  hauling  cane  to  mill,  one  hand  and  team  three  days, 6  oo 

Use  of  land, 5  oo 


Total, $25  50 

In  this  same  essay  it  is  estimated  that  the  cost  of 
working  up  syrup  is  twenty  cents  per  gallon.  For  128 
gallons  before  mentioned,  it  would  be  $25.60.  The 
total  cost  of  preparing  the  resulting  syrup  from  one 
acre  alone  for  market  would  be  as  follows  : 

For  cultivation, $25  50 

For  manufacturing, .2560 


Total, $51  10 


28 


Table  showing  the  average  number  of  gallons  of  syrup 
obtained  per  acre  for  the  entire  United  States. 


State. 


Alabama !_1 122          Jo  50 

Arkansas 117  48 

Colorado    116  90 

California 196  50 

Delaware  __  25 

Dakota  Territory 112  66 

Florida 145  30 

Georgia 104  48 

Illinois 132  46 

Indiana  __  127  40 

Indian  Territory 127 

Iowa 130  52 


Kan? 


49 


Kentucky 119  39 

Maryland in  60 

Michigan 166  51 

Minnesota 138  56 

Mississippi in  49 

Missouri 135  40 

Nebraska 124  55 

New  Jersey 147 

New  York 175  75 

North  Carolina 16}  57 

Ohio  151  48 

Pennsylvania 138  50 

South  Carolina 94  50 

Tennessee 138  41 

Texas _ 114  57 

Utah  Territory |       117  62 

Virginia 113  55 

West  Virginia  __.  127  51 

Wisconsin 149  54 

Average  of  total f 128  50 

From  the  sale  of  128  gallons  at  fifty  cents  we 
have  $64.00;  less  $51.10,  equal  to  $12.90.  If  we 
admit  that  the  refuse  may  be  fed  to  cattle,  and  worth 
$5.00,  this  would  represent  a  total  of  about  $17.90; 
whilst  beet-sugar  profits  would  be  $46.00  for  the  same 
area,  or  a  difference  of  $28.10  to  the  acre.  If  we 
should  admit  that  the  working  of  sorghum  sugar  is 
practical,  and  that  five  pounds  of  sugar  to  the  gallon 
may  be  obtained  (which  result  is  simply  ridiculous, 
but  it  has  been  supposed  for  argument's  sake  that  it  is 
based  upon  the  maximum  as  claimed  by  the  sorghum 

29 


enthusiasts),  and  that  this  be  worth  eight  cents  per 
pound,  we  would  then  have  640  pounds  of  sugar  at 
eight  cents,  which  would  be  equal  to  $51.20,  leaving, 
we  will  say,  320  pounds  of  molasses,  or  forty  gallons, 
which  we  will  admit  as  worth  twenty  cents  per  gallon, 
giving  a  total  for  the  receipts  of  about  $60.00.  As  for 
the  cost  of  obtaining  the  syrup  by  improved  methods, 
we  will  admit  that  it  is  represented  by  thirty-five 
cents  per  gallon  of  syrup  obtained,  or,  in  other 
words,  seven  cents  per  pound  ;  consequently  the  cost 
of  manufacture  on  a  large  scale  of  640  pounds  of  sugar 
is  640  X  7— $44.80.  We  will  then  have  for  the  net  profit 
$60.00 — $44. 80= $15. 20,  or  about  the  same  as  is  real- 
ized in  selling  the  syrup  alone. 

In  conclusion  we  would  say,  that  we  agree 
with  the  writer  upon  sorghum  who  says,  "  That  the 
great  object  should  be,  first,  to  obtain  that  variety  of 
cane  which  has  proved  most  successful  in  crystalliza- 
tion, reject  the  unripe  or  inferior  canes,  cut  and  use 
only  about  two-thirds  of  the  stalks,  cutting  off  at 
six  or  eight  inches  above  the  ground  "  (this  has  to  be 
done,  and  is  yet  to  be).  If  the  worthless  portions  are 
to  be  taken  off  and  thrown  away,  there  remains  but 
little  of  the  original  stalk,  thus  rendering  the  problem 
still  more  difficult  from  a  financial  point  of  view. 


AMBER  CANE  SUGAR. 

Sugar  from  the  Early  Amber  Cane. 

FROM   the   close   of  the  war  (at  which   period  it 
was   discovered    in   Minnesota)  but    little   has 
been  accomplished  with  the  early  amber  cane 
from  a   sugar  point   of  view.     Experiments  without 
number  have  been  made,  and  hundreds  of  gallons  of 
syrup  manufactured,  and  it  may  be  justly  stated  that 
it  is  not  from  the  amber  cane  we  may  look  for  a  plant 
qualified  to  produce  our  home  Northern  sugars. 

Government  experiments  have  proved  little  or 
nothing.  Those  of  the  Amherst  Agricultural  College 
demonstrated  the  impossibility  of  any  practical 
results  being  realized.  These  were  conducted  by 
Professor  Goesmann,  whose  reputation  as  a  chemist 
is  sufficient  to  warrant  the  accuracy  of  the  results 
obtained.  They  were  made  in  August  and  September, 
1878,  and  by  closely  examining  them  we  find  a  pos- 
sible maximum  sugar  of  five  per  cent,  in  one  case 
only,  one  of  four,  and  the  other  of  three  per  cent. 
The  conclusions  arrived  at  are  the  same  as  those  our 
correspondents  have  led  us  to  believe.  We  quote  in 
consequence  the  following,  which  speaks  for  itself: 
"  A  part  of  our  cane,  after  being  cut,  was  left  upon 
the  field  for  about  ten  days  before  being  ground  and 
pressed  ;  the  remainder  was  cut  without  delay  and 
sent  to  the  mill.  Examinations  of  the  juice  obtained 
from  both  of  these  lots  of  cane  were  made,  and  they 
admit  of  no  other  explanation  but  that  the  best  course 
to  pursue  consists  in  grinding  the  matured  cane  as 


soon  as  it  is  cut."  We  may  consequently  conclude 
from  the  above  that  the  working  cannot  be  carried  on 
in  the  winter  (the  time  most  favorable,  and,  in  our 
mind,  the  only  practicable  period  in  the  Northern 
States). 

If  we  should  admit  that  the  cane  sugar  exists 
in  sufficient  quantities  immediately  after  cutting, 
storage  is  impossible,  and  this  should  be  sufficient  to 
condemn  it,  as  we  have  already  stated.  But  this  is 
not  the  only  difficulty ;  for,  even  if  the  entire  freshly 
cut  amber  cane  should  be  sent  to  the  mill  in  one  day, 
the  juice,  in  the  process  of  manufacture,  undergoes 
changes, — for  example  :  "  The  juice  of  a  healthy,  fresh- 
cut  cane  was  tested  before  it  .passed  into  the  defecator, 
and  also  subsequently  ;  the  juice,  before  being  worked, 
contained  3.61  per  cent,  of  grape  sugar,  and  8.16  per 
cent,  of  cane  sugar.  The  resulting  syrup  was  again 
analyzed  :  it  contained  grape  sugar,  37.87  per  cent.  ; 
cane  sugar,  37.48  per  cent."  The  conclusions  to  be 
drawn  from  these  experiments  are  exactly  the  same  as 
our  own,  and  we  quote,  "  It  will  be  generally  conceded 
that  the  sugar  production  from  syrup  like  the  above 
must  remain  a  mere  incidental  feature  in  the  amber 
cane  industry  in  our  section  of  the  country  [Mass.]." 

What  is  here  stated  applies,  we  consider,  to  all 
the  Northern  States.  In  conclusion,  we  would  say 
that  we  are  convinced  excellent  results  may  be  ob- 
tained in  the  South  from  the  early  amber,  as  shown 
by  the  Government  analysis.  The  results  are  more 
satisfactory  than  with  sorghum  ;  but  to  extract  the 
sugar  from  it  is  extremely  difficult;  and  the  percent- 
age obtained  decreases  upon  Northern  cultivation. 


CORNSTALK  SUGAR. 

Sugar  from  Cornstalk  and  Maize. 

IN  Prescott's  "  Conquest  of  Mexico,"  mention  is 
made  of  sugar  being  manufactured  from  corn- 
stalks. Dr.  Ackerly  wrote,  some  forty  years 
ago,  to  one  of  the  agricultural  papers  as  follows:  "  If 
a  semi-civilized  nation  on  the  continent  of  America 
make  sugar  from  the  stalks  of  Indian  corn,  why  may 
not  a  more  civilized  nation  of  the  present  day,  with 
the  aid  of  art  and  science,  do  the  same  ?"  The  above 
items  are  sufficient  to  show  that  even  in  this  country 
the  problem  of  cornstalk  sugar  was  one  of  the  first 
ideas  of  the  early  settlers,  with  the  view  of  supplying 
their  domestic  requirements  with  sugar.  We  may 
ask,  Could  the  product  thus  obtained  be  sold  on  our 
market  to-day  ?  We  can  positively  say  that  it  could 
not ;  for,  as  then,  the  sugar  was  not  practically  fit  to 
eat,  from  our  civilized  point  of  view.  (If,  on  the  other 
hand,  we  consult  the  earliest  documents,  going  back 
thousands  of  years,  this  sort  of  sugar  was  suggested  ; 
experiments,  so  called,  were  made,  but  syrup  was  the 
only  reward.)  The  greatest  excitement  over  the  subject 
prevailed  in  1840  to  1845  in  the  United  States,  from 
which  day  until  within  recent  years  nothing  of  moment 
has  been  said  or  done ;  consequently,  if  now  desiring  its 
introduction,  knowing  the  experience  of  older  nations, 
and  after  attempting  its  manufacture  for  a  period  of 
five  years,  we  would,  in  1881,  be  recommencing  on  a 
project  upon  which  thousands  of  dollars  have  been 
thrown  away.  Prospects  of  any  practical  results  being 

33 


obtained  are  by  no  means  encouraging,  notwithstand- 
ing overwhelming  promises  ;  and  these  will  be  all  that 
the  interested  capitalists  will  receive  for  their  money. 
We  beg  to  recall  a  few  past  sayings :  *  "  Complete  suc- 
cess has  attended  the  experiments  on  this  subject  in 
Delaware,  and  leaves  no  room  to  doubt  the  fact  that  if 
the  stalk  is  permitted  to  mature,  and  without  suffering 
the  ear  to  form,  the  saccharine  matter  is  three  times  as 
great  as  in  the  beet,  and  equal  to  the  cane  ;  and  it  will 
amply  repay  the  manufacture  into  sugar." 

We  have  not  seen  any  analysis  of  cornstalks  then 
grown,  but,  when  compared  with  those  of  to-day,  we 
fail  to  realize  that  therein  three  times  the  sugar  is  to  be 
found  that  exists  in  an  ordinary  beet.  But  we  would 
say,  whatever  it  be  in  the  latter  case,  it  may  be 
extracted  ;  the  same  cannot  be  said  of  the  former, 
judging  from  present  existing  results  and  methods. 
In  1843  Mr.  Webb,  of  Wilmington,  speaking  of  his 
experiments,  stated  :  "  We  had  ten  gallons  of  syrup 
evaporated  in  a  broad,  shallow  vessel ;  this  crystallized 
readily  and  made  good  sugar."  The  amount  of  the 
latter  is,  however,  not  stated,  hence  we  can  draw  no 
conclusions ;  for  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  sugar 
does  exist,  but  in  what  quantities  ?  We  know  not. 
These  efforts  continued,  and  one  year  later  (see  Patent 
Office  Report,  1843,  Page  5  8)  the  opinion  was  ex- 
pressed that  the  results  from  Indian  corn  were  most 
encouraging.  The  manufacture  of  sugar  compared 
with  that  from  the  beet  offers  many  advantages.  It  is 
more  simple  and  less  liable  to  fail ;  the  machinery  is 
less  expensive,  and  the  amount  of  fuel  required  is  less 
by  one  half.  The  amount  of  sugar  produced  upon 
one  acre  of  ground  is  greater,  beside  being  of  a 
better  quality ;  we  fail  to  appreciate  what  are  the 


:See  Patent  Office  Report,  1842,  page  5. 
34 


advantages  in  corn  sugar ;  there  is  one,  however,  which 
is,  that  its  manufacture  exists  in  theory  but  not  in 
practice.  The  machinery  for  corn  sugar  is  at  a  mini- 
mum, for  it  does  not  practically  exist.  We  also  read 
that  "  the  proportion  of  crystallizable  sugar  appears 
to  be  larger  than  is  obtained  from  the  cane  in  Lou- 
isiana." If  such  an  assertion  was  true  in  1844,  wn7 
should  it  not  be  in  1881  ?  Of  all  the  attempts  made  in 
this  cornstalk  utilization,  those  in  the  Southern  States 
were  by  far  the  most  successful.  Those  in  the  North 
amounted  to  but  little,  and  even  in  the  latter  case  the 
syrup  is  said  to  have  crystallized  only  after  two 
months.  Why  this  happened  no  explanation  is  given; 
six  hundred  and  eighty-eight  pounds,  however,  are  said 
to  have  been  obtained  per  acre.  If  we  admit  that  this 
is  the  average,  even  with  the  above  attempt  of  crystal- 
lization, the  yield  would  be  one-half  that  obtained  from 
sugar  beets  in  the  Northern  States  ;  and  the  attempt 
to  extract  as  much  sugar  from  cornstalks  as  from 
beets  would  be  absurd.  What  we  have  already  said 
should  be  sufficient  to  condemn  this  plant  as  a  source 
of  sugar,  even  in  the  Southern  States. 

After  many  years  of  experiments  it  was  concluded 
that  the  corn  sugar  would  not  easily  crystallize,  and 
until  1875  little  or  no  mention  is  made  of  it  in 
the  Agricultural  Reports.  Some  years  ago,  as  we 
have  already  stated,  when  it  was  suggested  and 
asserted  that  sugar  could  be  made  from  cornstalks, 
hopes  were  again  entertained  as  to  the  results  that 
might  be  expected.  Attention  was  called  to  the  fact 
that  if  one  acre  out  of  fifty  grown  in  the  United  States, 
or  one-eleventh  of  the  yearly  acreage  cultivated  in 
Illinois,  was  utilized  for  sugar  manufacture,  it  would 
supply  the  home  demand. 

A  well-known  author  estimated  that  2 1 ,700  pounds 
Kansas  corn  may  be  grown  to  the  acre,  from  the  stalks 

35 


of  which  could  easily  be  extracted  1,800  pounds  of 
excellent  sugar.  We  find  in  the  Agricultual  Report  of 
1877  that  Mr.  Stewart  argued  that  the  limit  of  sugar 
to  be  obtained  from  an  acre  of  land  was  3,000  pounds. 
This  would  represent  over  double  the  amount 
realized  on  an  average  Southern  sugar  cane  planta- 
tion. The  farmers  were  to  utilize  the  stalks,  and 
each  man  was  to  be  independent  of  his  neighboring 
grocery.  Was  this  ever  realized  ?  Not  to  our  knowl- 
edge. If  we  should  even  admit  that  the  factory  said 
to  have  been  established  in  Iowa  is  now  working  on  a 
paying  basis,  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  corn- 
stalks must  be  utilized  immediately  after  cutting  ;  and 
the  manufacture  of  sugar  (as  in  the  sorghum  utiliza- 
tion), when  it  exists,  be  carried  on  within  restricted 
limits.  Do  not  all  the  arguments  we  have  expounded 
relating  to  sorghum  also  hold  good  in  regard  to  corn- 
stalk utilization  ? 

If  we  should  admit  that  the  cornstalk  be  success- 
fully and  profitably  utilized,  it  would  have  for  effect 
the  ruin  of  the  soil,  as  comparatively  nothing  would 
be  returned  to  the  ground  ;  while  in  the  sugar  beet 
cultivation  the  leaves  and  neck  are  left,  and  these 
contain  a  large  amount  of  what  has  been  extracted 
by  the  plant  in  growing. 


CANE  SUGAR. 

Sugar  from   Sugar   Cane. 

FROM  this  source  wonders  have  been  expected  in 
the  United  States  since  1751,  when  it  was  first 
introduced  into  Louisiana.  The  yearly  results, 
as  to  sugar  yield,  however,  have  been  steadily  on  the 
decline, and  many  of  the  sugar  lands  were,  in  1 874,  turned 
into  rice  fields.  What  was  in  years  gone  by  obtained  in 
Louisiana  is  not  again  to  be  hoped  for  many  years  to 
come.  Such  being  the  case,  other  Southern  States  have 
been  suggested  and  tried  ;  they  give,  in  many  respects, 
fair  results,  but  whatever  these  have  thus  far  been,  they 
are  so  insignificant  when  compared  with  our  total  con- 
sumption of  sugar  that  they  can  hardly  be  considered. 
But  many  argue  that  the  time  will  come  when  Texas 
alone  will  grow  sufficient  cane  to  supply  the  entire 
North  with  sugar.  Is  this  period  near  at  hand  ?  We 
think  not,  and  trust  that  our  people  will  realize 
the  same.  We  doubt  if  the  lands,  for  example  of 
Louisiana,  will  be  in  a  proper  state  for  cane  cultivation 
for  hundreds  of  years  to  come.  They,  unfortunately, 
nearly  all  are  subjected  to  a  continual  overflow ;  these 
were  partly  protected  before  the  war  by  jetties,  but  the 
latter  have  since  been  destroyed,  and  to  restore  them 
to  the  proper  state  would  necessitate  a  Government 
expense  of  millions  of  dollars  ;  and  local  State  taxa- 
tion would  be  of  little  help,  as  the  amount  required  is 
beyond  the  purse  of  the  few.  If  the  question  simply 
depended  upon  the  rebuilding  of  the  jetties,  we  might 

37 


see  our  way  more  clearly  ;  but  the  yearly  repairs  would 
amount  to  sums  that  would,  in  many  respects,  be 
greater  than  the  value  of  the  sugar  cane  grown  and 
thus  protected.  We  can  only  cite  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Norbert  Lange,  St.  Charles  Parish,  in  speaking  of  the 
ruin  of  these  lands :  "  On  my  place,  before  the  cre- 
vasse of  Bonnet  Carre,  my  crop  ordinarily  was  from 
200,000  to  300,000  pounds.  The  crops  of  seven  of  my 
neighbors  were  in  the  aggregate  2,600,000  pounds. 
All  these  lands,  as  also  those  of  thousands  of  others 
adapted  to  the  culture  of  the  sugar  cane,  remain  unal- 
tered, for  the  reason  that  every  year  they  are  inundated 
by  the  waters  of  the  river."  We  can  only  say,  in  addi- 
tion to  Mr.  Lange's  remarks,  that  if  these  sugar  lands 
had  any  actual  value  they  could  not  possibly  be  pur- 
chased for  $  1 5  to  $20  per  acre.  Those  interested  assert 
that  2,000  and  even  5,000  pounds  of  sugar  may  be 
obtained  from  cane  grown  upon  them.  These  figures 
simply  mislead  the  novice,  as  the  average  yearly  produc- 
tion per  acre  was  only  1,200 pounds;  whilst  in  the  West 
Indies  it  frequently  runs  up  to  7,000  pounds  per 
acre.  On  the  island  of  Mauritius  the  latter  yield  is  of 
very  common  occurrence.  In  the  countries  just  men- 
tioned, the  production  of  sugar  rose  in  ten  years  from 
750,000  tons  to  1,050,000  tons.  During  the  same 
period  the  increase  of  beet-sugar  production  in  Europe 
was  two  hundred  per  cent.  The  increase  in  the  East 
Indies  during  the  same  time  was  forty-four  per  cent. 
Why  are  such  results  obtained  in  the  above-mentioned 
climes  and  not  here  ?  Is  the  destruction  of  the  jetties 
above  referred  to  the  sole  cause  of  the  trouble  in 
Louisiana?  or  is  it  that  the  handling  of  the  bagasse 
is  not  as  scientific  as  elsewhere  ?  or,  again,  has  the 
successive  planting  of  the  same  seed  resulted  in  a 
deterioration  of  the  stock  ?  To  actually  bring  about 
a  reform,  the  entire  system  of  cultivating  the  cane 

38 


should  be  changed ;  for  example,  deep  plowing  should 
be  resorted  to,  and  a  scientific  utilization  of  fertiliz- 
ers ;  with  this  a  complete  and  proper  drainage  of 
the  swamps  and  lowlands  would  be  needed,  with 
plenty  of  labor,  black  and  white,  which  is  now  so 
scarce  (as  the  slave  population  is  migrating  north). 
The  cane  seed  should  be  imported  from  other  lati- 
tudes, and  would  thereby  probably  improve,  etc. 
Can  this  be  accomplished  in  a  few  years  ?  We  doubt 
it.  Then,  again,  the  question  in  our  minds  is  (one 
that  we  have  not  seen  discussed)  whether  the  tem- 
perature of  the  Southern  States  is  sufficiently  high  or 
constant  for  the  proper  maturity  of  the  sugar  cane. 
Possibly  this  may  be  one  of  the  sources  of  trouble. 
By  referring  to  the  physical  conditions  of  the  climate 
of  Mauritius,  we  find  that  ninety  degrees  represents  the 
almost  constant  temperature  for  the  year.  If  this  is 
not  as  important  as  we  consider  it,  it  is,  without  a 
doubt,  one  source  of  difficulty  which  may  partially 
explain  why  it  is  there  are  sugar  lands  which  do  not 
yield  the  proper  amount. 


Comparative  Cost  and   Return    from   the   Cane  and 
the  Sugar  Beet. 

SUGAR  CANE  COSTS  AND  PROFITS. — In  all  cases 
here  following  we  will  take  the  average  of  the 
results  obtained  upon  large  areas, — for  example,  those 
in  growing  the  sugar  cane  in  Louisiana :  Upon  one 
hundred  acres*  under  cultivation,  135,000  pounds 
of  sugar  were  extracted  ;  these  were  sold  at  eight 
cents  per  pound,  and  the  total  value  of  the  cane  was 
$10,800.  Besides  this  there  were  90,000  pounds  of 


*See  Agricultural  Report,  1872. 

39 


molasses  which  sold  at  four  cents  per  pound  ;  we  have, 

consequently,  as  returns : 

From  sugar  at  eight  cents  per  pound,  $10,800 
From  sale  of  molasses,  3, 600 

$14,400 


The  cost  of  cultivating  one  hundred  acres  was  $5,000, 
or  $50  to  the  acre.  The  expense  of  manufacture, 
including  the  overseer,  etc.,  was  $7,400. 

For  cultivating  one  hundred  acres  at 

$50  per  acre,  $5,ooo 

Expense  of  manufacture,  -  7,400 

$12,400 

Consequently  we  have  for  profits : 

Receipts,  $14,400 

Expenses,  12,400 

Net  profit,  $2,000 


or  $20  per  acre  of  land  under  cultivation. 

SUGAR  BEET  COST  AND  PROFITS. — Our  experi- 
ence in  raising  beets  has  convinced  us  that  fifteen  tons 
to  the  acre  is  a  just  average  for  the  entire  Northern 
States ;  beets  may  be  grown  at  about  $45  per  acre, 
but  as  we  are  in  this  argument  to  consider  averages, 
we  will  take  those  of  nearly  two  thousand  farmers  of 
Delaware,  Maine,  and  Massachusetts.  The  average 
results  obtained  by  them  were  ten  tons  to  the  acre. 
The  average  cost  of  raising  b^ets  was  $50  per  acre. 
As  these  were  grown  under  contract,  they  were 
sold,  we  will  suppose,  at  cost  price  ;  or,  for  argu- 
ment's sake,  we  may  admit  that  they  were  grown  by 
the  manufacturer,  and  $50*  consequently  represents  the 
actual  cost  of  cultivation,  including  seed  and  the  various 


*  In  the  growing  of  over  three  hundred  acres,  by  the    Delaware  Beet  Sugar 
Company,  this  year,  it  is  estimated  that  the  above  is  a  maximum  figure. 

40 


operations,  rent  of  land,  interest  of  money  invested 
in  the  agricultural  implements,  etc. 

As  for  the  amount  of  sugar  that  may  be  extracted, 
we  will  take  the  results  obtained  at  Portland  *  in  1880, 
under  unfavorable  circumstances  :  from  70,000  tons 
of  roots  420  tons  of  sugar  were  obtained,  corres- 
ponding to  a  yield  of  at  least  six  per  cent.  During 
the  same  campaign  in  Delaware,  with  fewer  beets,  this 
average  was  nearly  maintained.  We  are  also  informed 
that  at  the  Alvarado  Factory  these  results  were  prac- 
tically the  same ;  consequently,  with  ten  tons  or 
22,000  pounds,  at  six  per  cent.,  we  would  have  1,320 
pounds  of  sugar,  which  were  and  may  be  sold  at  eight 
cents  per  pound,  or  $105.60 ;  with  this  we  would  have, 
say,  fifty  per  cent,  of  molasses,  or  660  pounds,  which 
were  and  may  be  sold  at  two  and  a  half  cents  per 
pound  (in  Delaware  and  Maine  the  molasses  was  sold 
at  twenty  cents  per  gallon). 

RETURNS. 

From  sugar  at  eight  cents  per  pound,  $105.60 
From  molasses  at  two  and  a  half 

cents  per  pound,  16.50 

From  pulp,  forty  per  cent,  or  four 

tons  at  $i  per  ton,  4-OO 

Total  receipts,  $I261I_°_ 

It  has  been  generally  admitted  that  the  cost  of  work- 
ing one  ton  of  beets,  including  wear  and  tear  of  ma- 
chines, interest  on  money,  labor,  etc.,  is  $3  a  ton.  This 
is  an  average  ;  consequently  for  profits  we  would  have: 
For  cultivation  of  one  acre  of  ten 

tons,  $50.00 

Expenses  of  manufacture,  30.00 

$80.00 


See  The  Sugar  Beet  for  description  of  Portland  factory. 
41 


PROFITS. 

Returns,  $126.10 

Expenses,  80.00 

Net  profit,  $46.10 

from  one  acre  of  land  under  cultivation. 

These  figures  are  as  accurate  as  we  can  make 
them,  and  have  been  based  on  actual  data  obtained  in 
the  North  with  the  beet,  upon  ordinary  land  and  in 
the  South  with  the  sugar  cane  upon  a  Southern  plan- 
tation. The  difference,  $46.00  less  $20.00  or  $26. 10, 
favor  of  the  Sugar  Beet,  we  trust  will  be  sufficient  to 
convince  our  readers  of  the  impossibility  of  the  cane, 
under  the  best  of  circumstances  in  the  South,  compet- 
ing with  the  sugar  beet  in  the  North,  even  by  present 
methods.  The  transportation  of  the  sugar  north  must 
be  done  in  the  one  case  ;  whilst  in  the  other  it  need  not 
be,  for  the  reason  that  it  is  produced  in  the  centre  of 
demand.  In  the  one  case  the  article  must  be  refined, 
and  in  the  other  that  process  is  not  requisite  (by  recent 
improvements  refined  sugar  may  be  made  directly  from 
the  beet). 

Nothing  is  in  the  way  for  the  complete  success  of 
the  beet-sugar  industry  in  our  country  but  the  confi- 
dence of  our  people  (as  they  imagine  that  the  problem 
is  a  difficult  one),  and  the  strict  adherence  to  foreign 
methods. 


Condition  of  American  Sugar  Industry. 

Too  much  confidence  is  placed  in  the  future 
possible  Southern  cane  sugar  supply ;  and  the 
complete  ignorance  of  the  masses  of  the  difficul- 
ties to  be  overcome  may  partially  explain  why  more 
has  not  been  done,  and  why  the  industry  has  not  been 

42 


ere  this  established  in  America.  Sugar  cane  has  never 
been  able  to  supply  our  home  demand  with  sugar, 
whilst  the  beet  has,  in  Europe,  permitted  for  years  an 
immense  export  of  sugar.  We  fear  that  but  few  of 
our  readers  realize  the  exact  condition  of  the  home 
sugar  production  from  various  sources,  consumption 
and  importation.  With  the  view  of  rendering  it  com- 
prehensible, we  give  a  table  based  on  official  data,  for 
example  : 

In  every  State,  with  two  exceptions,  /.  e.,  Ten- 
nessee and  South  Carolina,  there  has  been  a  falling  off 
in  ten  years.  In  Mississippi,  for  example,  this  has 
been  1000  per  cent.  The  table  shows  that,  while  the 
total  home  production  has  not  regularly  diminished, 
it  has  practically,  for  the  reason  that  nearly  30,000,000 
pounds  less  are  made  to-day  than  twenty  years  ago. 

The  production  in  Louisiana  was  in  1860  one- 
third  of  the  total  (as  before  stated),  but  to-day  it  is  so 
small  as  to  be  doubtful  of  ever  again  attaining  this  same 
proportional  growth.  One  curious  fact  relating  to  our 
home  sugar  production  is,  that  whilst  it  has  practically 
yearly  decreased  the  population  augmented,  and  the 
production  remaining  the  same,  the  total  exportation 
of  sugar  has  increased;  it  was  4,466,031  pounds  in 
1860,  whilst  it  was  54,073,814  in  1877. 

Whilst  our  total  imports  were  in  1860  but 
694,879,795  pounds,  in  1877,  for  example,  they  had 
increased  over  one  hundred  per  cent,  and  were 
1,623,973,537  pounds.  In  1863,  on  account  of  the 
war,  there  was  a  slight  falling  off;  but  from  1868 
to  the  present  day  the  increase  has  been  very  steady, 
with  little  or  no  fluctuation. 

During  these  same  years  the  exportation  of  for- 
eign sugars  has  fallen  in  1863  from  34,016,070  pounds, 
to  3,122,956  pounds  in  1877,  from  which  period  it  has 
somewhat  increased. 

43 


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TOTAL    VALUE. 

As  shown,  this  amounted  to  $  1 1 8,749,573  in  1 880, 
including  customs,  which  should  not  be  neglected,  for 
when  the  foreign  sugar  question  is  discussed,  and  the 
benefit  tp  be  derived  from  the  utilization  of  home  capital 
and  labor  considered,the  customs  duty  is  a  benefit  to  the 
Government,  but  it  is  of  little  help  to  the  individual 
in  the  way  of  actual  employment,  when  compared  to 
what  it  would  be  if  invested  in  the  home  sugar  indus- 
try. It  is  an  immense  help  towards  making  our  people 
realize  the  importance  of  the  question  of  home  pro- 
duction, and  is  the  only  practical  method  to  be 
adopted.  Such  being  the  case,  it  becomes  evident 
that  the  importance  of  home  sugar  manufacture  can- 
not be  overestimated. 

Whilst  in  this  country  the  consumption  is  nothing 
like  what  it  is  in  England  (for  example,  there  the  aver- 
age is  nearly  sixty-four  pounds  per  capita),  it  is  on  the 
increase,  and  will,  without  doubt,  attain  that  figure 
within  the  next  ten  years  ;  for  whilst  in  the  eighth 
decade  28.10  pounds  were  consumed  per  capita,  it  was 
in  the  ninth  38.29  pounds  ;  and  in  the  tenth  decade, 
if  the  same  ratio  of  augmentation  should  exist,  the 
above  expectation  will  not  be  an  exaggeration.  The 
consumption  of  foreign  sugars  has  more  than  doubled 
in  twenty  years.  For  1860  it  was  660,777,673  pounds  ; 
in  1880,  1,601,200,417  pounds;  and  the  consumption 
of  home  sugar  has  decreased  100,000,000  pounds  in 
the  same  time. 


46 


MAPLE  SUGAR. 

Sugar   from   the  Maple  Tree. 

r  I  ^HE  extraction  of  sugar  from  the  maple  tree  is  evi- 
dently one  of  the  most  simple  methods  of  obtain- 
ing cane  sugar.  The  coloring  matter  may  be  got 
rid  of  by  a  series  of  filtrations,  but  maple  sugar 
is  not  a  practical  source  for  the  sugar  supply  of 
the  country.  Many  with  whom  we  have  corres- 
ponded assert,  that  it  is  simply  a  question  of  how 
many  trees  are  utilized ;  that  these  exist  at  present  in 
sufficient  number  to  meet  the  home  demand.  It  is 
also  contended  that  little  or  no  harm  results  from  the 
tapping.  But  we  can  positively  assert  that  there  are 
to-day  but  few  rock  and  black  maple  trees  stand- 
ing that  were  utilized  for  maple  sugar  manufac- 
ture some  forty  years  since.  Those  which  have 
never  been  thought  of  for  maple  sugar,  are  rapidly 
disappearing  before  the  axe;  groves  of  them  are 
consequently  swept  away.  The  protection  of  the 
farm  by  these  trees,  and  their  view,  so  highly  pleasing 
to  the  eye,  is  generally  entirely  neglected.  The  desire 
for  a  timber  profit  (which  evidently  in  many  cases 
represents  cash)  is  so  tempting  to  the  owner  of  the 
land,  that  he  overlooks  the  probable  future  these 
trees  may  have  in  store  for  him.  This  vast  destruc- 
tion of  trees  is  too  terrible  to  think  of.  In  France, 
there  exists  a  law,  which  prescribes  that  every  tree 
hewed  to  the  ground  must  be  replaced  by  another. 
In  this  manner  the  country,  its  lands,  its  climate,  etc., 
are  protected  ;  but  unfortunately  this  law  does  not 

47 


exist  in  the  United  States.  We  are  convinced  that 
entire  neighborhoods,  in  certain  localities,  have  been 
changed  by  this  system  of  tree-cutting.  The  time  is 
not  far  distant  if  such  a  practice  continue,  when  the 
beautiful  green  Vermont  will  be  a  story  of  the  past. 
It  is  all  very  well  to  argue  that  no  harm  is  done  by 
the  simple  extraction  of  a  certain  number  of  gallons 
of  sap  each  year ;  but  it  is,  we  consider,  in  no  way 
rational  to  suppose  that  this  continual  bleeding  is 
beneficial.  The  period  for  tapping  is  any  time  from 
the  autumn  to  the  spring  of  the  year;  better  during  the 
former  than  the  latter  season.  It  is  also  admitted  that 
the  continual  tapping  of  the  tree  increases  the  quality 
of  the  sap  ;  hence  the  natural  tendency  to  finally  kill 
the  tree.  It  is  also  a  well-established  fact,  that  maple 
trees  to  give  a  satisfactory  yield  must  not  be  too  near 
together ;  hence  the  importance  of  thinning  them  out. 
Troughs  and  spouts,  from  which  the  sap  flows  from 
the  tapped  portion  of  the  tree,  are  made  of  wood. 
The  boiling  or  concentration  of  the  sap  is  done  on  the 
spot ;  and  to  obtain  one  to  two  hundred  pounds  of 
sugar  a  cord  of  wood  is  used  as  fuel ;  hence  for  these 
reasons  the  necessity  of  wood  in  large  amounts,  which 
is  supplied  by  the  cutting  down  of  more  trees.  We 
may  conclude  that  the  entire  maple  business,  how- 
ever profitable  it  may  have  been  in  years  gone  by,  has 
no  great  future.  Among  the  farmers  this  maple 
sugar  manufacture  is  said  to  be  a  social  enjoyment, 
and  we  trust  that  it  will  remain  within  these  limits, 
and  be  carried  on  as  it  was  during  the  earliest  days  of 
the  settlement  of  New  England,  and  not  be  considered 
as  a  grand  State  industry,  as  argued  in  Vermont  some 
years  past,  during  which  period  the  amount  of  maple 
sugar  manufactured  in  one  year  would  have  permitted 
the  building  of  a  wall  around  the  entire  State  eight 
inches  high  and  eight  inches  thick.  The  yield  of  the 

48 


trees  during  that  period  was  extremely  variable,  but 
the  following  gives  a  fair  average:  From  1,150  trees 
at  Canterbury,  in  Vermont,  618  barrels  of  sap,  or 
1 9*777  gallons,  were  obtained,  from  which  was  manu- 
factured 4,000  pounds  of  sugar,  or  one  pound  of  sugar 
per  five  gallons  of  sap.  On  the  other  hand,  in  Cam- 
bridge, Vermont,  from  75,730  trees  221,350  pounds  of 
sugar  were  made,  or  an  average  of  about  three  pounds 
per  tree.  Upon  this  basis  we  beg  to  make  a  small 
calculation,  showing  the  number  of  trees  that  must 
necessarily  be  planted  to  furnish  all  the  sugar  we 
consume  in  the  United  States.  The  consumption 
was,  in  1877,*  1,692,299,758  pounds.  The  number  of 
maple  trees  to  furnish  this  would  be  564,066,583.  It 
is  admitted  that  two  men  can,  in  the  season,  take  care 
of  three  hundred  trees,  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  trees 
per  man,  consequently  for  the  tapping  of  the  trees 
alone  it  would  require  •5'^--f  |^5.o  =3,760,443  men.  If 
the  boiling  and  the  preparing  of  the  sugar  for  market 
(in  and  out  of  the  factory)  should  require,  say,  as  many 
more  hands,  the  total  number  would  then  be  over 
7,OOO,OOO  men,  or  nearly  every  available  working  man 
in  the  United  States.  This  very  idea  prevents  one 
from  looking  to  the  maple  tree  as  a  source  for  home 
sugar  supply. 

Home  Production  of  Maple  Sugar. 

The  following  table  gives  the  home  production  of 
maple  sugar,  which  shows  that  in  1877,  1,000,000 
pounds  less  were  produced  than  in  1861.  As  maybe 
n®ticed  in  table  showing  the  production  in  various 
States  in  the  Union,  with  the  exception  of  Illinois 
with  an  increased  average  production  in  ten  years 


*  The  calculations  were  not  based  upon  the  consumption  of  1880,  for  the  reason 
that  we  received  the  data  a  few  days  only  before  going  to  press. 

49 


of  2,000  pounds,  but  a  decrease  of  100,000  pounds 
since  1850,  Ohio  with  an  increase  of  24,000  pounds, 
and  Tennessee  of  19,000  pounds,  there  has  been  a 
rapid  decrease  in  the  production  of  each  State  from 
1860  to  1870,  and  a  still  greater  decrease  since  1850. 
In  New  York,  for  example,  there  have  fallen  off,  since 
1850,  4,000,000  pounds;  in  Vermont,  since  1860, 
1,000,000  pounds. 

TOTAL   PRODUCTION    OF    MAPLE    SUGAR    IN    THE 
UNITED   STATES.* 


1861 42,000,000  Ibs. 

1862 44,000,000 

1863 41,500,000 

1864 40,500,000 

1865 39>74o,796 

1866 37,532,000 

1867 35,654,000 

1868 33,421,000 

1869 29,114,500 


1870 —         28,443,645  Ibs. 

1871 30.756,000 

1872 31,682,000 

1873 32,157,000 

1874 33,044,200 

1875 43,197,930 

i-876___         43,288,080 

1877 41,000,000 


MAPLE  SUGAR  MANUFACTURED   IN    THE   UNITED 
STATES. 


State. 

Sugar. 

1870 

1860 

1850 

Illinois 

POUNDS. 

136  873 

POUNDS. 

POUNDS. 

Indiana 

1,332,332 

1,541,761 

2,921,192 

?8  4O7 

Kentucky 

269,416 

380,941 

1  60  805 

Massachusetts 

399,800 

1,006,078 

795,525 

Michigan 

1,781,855 

Minnesota 

210,467 

370,669 

2,95O 

Missouri 

116,980 

142,028 

New  Hampshire  
New  York 

1,800,704 
6,692,040 

2,255,012 
10,816.419 

1,298,863 

10  357  484 

Ohio 

Pennsylvania 

I  545  917 

2,767,335 

2,326  525 

Vermont 

8,894,302 

9,897,781 

6,349,357 

West  Virginia 

490,606 

Wisconsin 

507  192 

I   584  451 

United  States 

28,443,645 

40,120,205 

34,253,436 

*  We  regret  to  have  been  unable  to  complete  the  above,  but  the  reasons  we 
before  explained. 


POTATO  SUGAR. 

Sugar  from  the  Sweet   Potato. 

WE  cannot  admit  the  sweet  potato  as  a  source 
of  Northern  sugar  supply,  for  the  reason 
that  it  is  essentially  a  Southern  vegetable. 

It  is  true  the  sandy  soils  of  New  Jersey  have 
yielded  satisfactory  results  as  to  the  number  of  bushels 
grown  to  the  acre,  but  we  know  nothing  of  their 
saccharine  qualities.  We  are  convinced,  however, 
that  this  sugar  percentage  would  be  less  than  it  would 
have  been  had  these  roots  been  grown  at  the  South. 
For  example  :  sweet  potatoes  raised  in  South  Carolina 
contain  more  sugar  than  those  of  Virginia ;  and  it  is 
presumable  that  those  raised  in  Vermont  would  be 
inferior  to  others  of  Louisiana. 

The  maximum  sugar  existing  in  the  sweet  potato, 
to  our  knowledge,  in  the  Southern  climes,  is  ten  per 
cent.  We  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  data  as  to 
the  yield  per  acre  to  be  expected  North,  but  we  are 
informed  that  the  Southern  yield  is  about  three  times 
that  of  corn,  or,  in  other  words,  about  6,000  pounds, 
or  less  than  three  tons  per  acre.  (This  latter  may  be 
taken  as  a  basis.)  The  maximum  possible  sugar  to  be 
extracted  from  this  would  be,  say,  six  per  cent.,  or, 
perhaps,  400  pounds.  If  this  should  be  sold  at 
eight  cents  per  pound,  it  would  represent  $32.00.  If 
we  admit  that  the  total  residue  molasses  is  300  pounds, 
and  if  this  be  sold  at  two  cents  per  pound,  it  would 
represent  $6.00,  or  a  total  for  the  receipts  of  $38.00. 
As  for  the  cost  of  raising  the  sweet  potatoes,  it  would 

51 


be  at  least  $40.00  per  acre.  If  the  cost  of  manufacture 
should  be  identical  with  that  required  by  sugar  beets, 
we  would  have  for  the  three  tons  $9.00,  or  a  total  of 
$49.00  for  the  cost  of  cultivation  and  manufacture. 
The  profits  would  consequently  be  negative,  or,  in 
other  words,  there  would  be  a  loss  of  $11.00.  If  we 
should  admit  that  by  careful  selection  of  seed,  and  the 
most  improved  methods  of  cultivation  upon  suitable 
lands,  the  average  yield  to  the  acre  would  become 
equal  to  that  of  sugar  beets,  or  ten  tons,  it  would 
necessarily  be  a  crop  (as  it  always  has  been)  upon 
which  very  little  reliance  could  be  placed,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  extreme  tenderness  of  the  plant.  We 
are  willing  to  throw  aside  these  arguments,  and  admit 
that  it  is  equal  to  the  beet  from  every  point  of  view, 
but  there  remains  a  factor  which  cannot  possibly  be 
overlooked,  and  that  is  a  natural  color  peculiar  to  this 
sugar ;  and  this  cannot  be  eliminated  by  any  known 
economical  method.  If  we  should  admit  that  it  could 
be  done,  the  cost  of  the 'sugar  must  necessarily  be 
greater  than  were  there  no  necessity  for  the  expensive 
removal.  Sugar,  to  yield  a  high  price,  must  be  free 
from  all  foreign  substances. 


Sugar  from  the  White  Potato. 

The  idea  of  this  source  is  foolish  in  the  extreme. 
Many  argue  that  sugar  has  been  made  from  it. 
So  it  has,  but  not  cane  sugar.  The  starch  sugar 
generally  referred  to  is  obtained  by  the  simple  addition 
of  an  acid,  and  the  whole  becomes  changed  into  grape 
sugar  or  glucose.  Many  other  substances  may  be 
used  for  the  manufacture  of  this  same  sugar,  such  as 
paper,  saw-dust,  flax,  cotton  and  linen  rags,  sea-weeds, 

52 


etc.  All  of  these  may  be  transformed  into  sugar  by 
two  chemical  changes.  Calculations  are,  we  consider, 
in  this  case  unnecessary,  for  this  source  will  never 
supply  the  home  demand  with  sugar,  unless  glucose 
be  transformed  by  an  unknown  principle  into  cane 
sugar  (sucrose). 


WATERMELON  SUGAR. 

Sugar  from  "Watermelons. 

SOME  few  French  and  German  writers  many  years 
ago  expressed  their  opinion  that  the  melon 
would  be  a  capital  plant  for  sugar  manufacture. 
Factories  are  said  to  have  existed  in  Hungary 
and  Northern  Italy,  but  we  have  not,  during  the 
last  ten  years,  seen  any  accounts  of  results  there 
obtained.  With  the  view  to  home  sugar  manufacture, -a 
factory  was  started,  with  a  capital  of  $200,000,  in  Cali- 
fornia, having  for  object  the  utilization  of  watermelons. 
What  success  was  there  obtained  we  have  never  heard, 
as  the  results  were  not  published  in  the  Government 
Agricultural  Reports.  One  of  the  arguments  advanced 
in  favor  of  the  melon  utilization  is,  that  with  a  small 
capital  the  farmer,  or  a  combination  of  a  few  farmers, 
may  make  excellent  brown  sugar  for  domestic  usage, 
on  a  total  capital  of  $r,OOO.  If  surplus  sugar  is  pro- 
duced, this  could  be  sold  to  the  refiner,  who  could 
manufacture  from  it  an  excellent  white  and  refined 
sugar.  These  same  theories  have  been  advanced 
for  every  plant  that  has  been  proposed  for  Northern 
sugar  for  the  past  fifty  years  (and  we  have  discussed 
them  under  the  head  of  Sorghum,  etc.).  And  it  is  also 
argued  that  working  of  melons  into  sugar  may  com- 
mence a  month  earlier  than  with  beets.  But  how  can 
this  be,  when  the  necessary  temperature  for  their  com- 
plete maturity  has  not  existed  ?  Whilst  in  New  Jersey 
the  melon  may  be  grown  and  ripened,  apparently, 

54 


upon  a  sandy  soil,  sufficiently  so  for  eating  (in  conse- 
quence of  the  surplus  radiated  heat),  it  is  not,  on 
this  account,  suitable  for  the  manufacture  of  sugar. 
The  ripest,  and,  consequently,  those  containing  the 
most  sugar,  are  to  be  found  in  Southern  Hungary, 
Egypt,  Persia,  Italy,  India  (grown  on  the  river  edge 
where  the  cane  will  not  flourish) ;  the  temperature  in 
those  climes  being  sufficient  for  the  complete  maturity 
of  the  melon.  It  requires  a  subsoil  slightly  damp. 

In  growing  this  fruit  it  has  frequently  been  sug- 
gested to  plant  a  crop  between  the  rows,  to  economize 
the  land  ;  but  we  have  reasons  to  believe  that  the 
result  as  to  the  quality,  etc.,  would  be  sadly  impaired. 
It  is  contended  that  the  cost  of  cultivation  of  melons 
is  one-fourth  that  of  beets ;  but  we  doubt  it,  as  experi- 
ence has,  in  every  case,  proved  the  contrary.  The 
ploughing  of  the  field  for  beet  cultivation  is  an  actual 
outlay  at  the  commencement,  but  is  in  reality  an 
economy  for  subsequent  crops.  If  plowing  several 
times  should  be  resorted  to,  it  would  not  leave  the 
ground  in  a  condition  like  it  is  after  a  crop  of  beets. 
Argument  in  favor  of  melon  cultivation  and  utilization 
is,  that  a  larger  amount  may  be  sold  at  retail,  repre- 
senting an  immense  revenue,  which  is  admitted  would 
be  greater  than  could  possibly  be  expected  from  beets. 
But  we  would  say  in  answer,  the  experience  in  beet 
growing  in  America  has  been  that  the  farmers  esti- 
mate, in  many  cases,  there  is  more  profit  derived 
from  feeding  them  to  cattle  than  selling  to  the  factory 
at  $5  a  ton,  in  consequence  of  their  immense  feeding 
qualities.  If  only  ten  tons  to  the  acre  be  obtained, 
this  would  represent  a  value  for  fodder  of  $50  ;  we 
know  of  no  other  plant  of  which  the  same  may  be 
said. 

It  is  true  that  melons  yield  seed  every  year,  so 
does  sorghum ;  and  beets  require  two  years  for  matu- 

55 


rity,  occupying,  it  is  true,  the  soil  twice,  whilst  the 
other  plants  but  once.  But  the  advantage  is  greatly 
in  favor  of  the  beet,  as  it  permits  a  principle  of  selec- 
tion that  could  not  otherwise  possibly  exist,  the  proof 
of  which  being  that  the  beet  of  the  past  cannot  be 
compared  with  the  beet  of  to-day.  Little,  however, 
has  been  done  to  ameliorate  the  melon  from  a  sugar 
point  of  view.  The  beet  seed  in  beet-growing  districts 
is  sold  by  specialists  who  do  nothing  else,  and  they 
guarantee  a  given  result  as  to  yield  and  sugar  percent- 
age. As  for  the  value  of  the  melon  seed  for  the  manu- 
facture of  oil,  this  may,  without  doubt,  be  extremely 
profitable,  as  sixteen  per  cent,  of  the  total  weight  of  the 
melon  are  said  to  be  extracted  ;  but  we  doubt  whether 
the  profits  from  the  same  would,  as  many  contend, 
represent  one-half  the  cost  of  cultivation.  It  is  true 
that  beet  seed  cannot  be  used  for  this  purpose  ;  but  the 
latter  seed  are  grown  only  in  amounts  needed,  and  con- 
sequently from  them  a  profitable  selection  may  be 
made,  and  the  remainder  sold  at  a  reasonable  price. 
When  comparing  the  cost  of  harvesting  in  the  two 
cases,  in  one  it  is  comparatively  easy  work,  it  being 
sufficient  to  take  the  melon  from  the  vine  and  throw 
it  into  carts  ;  whilst  in  the  other,  beets  must  be  pulled 
or  taken  from  the  ground  with  a  special  harvesting 
appliance,  the  leaves  being  twisted  off  and  left  upon 
the  soil,  consequently  the  cost  for  this  operation  is 
greater  for  the  beet  than  for  the  melon  ;  but  the  tear- 
ing up  of  the  soil  for  some  depth  in  this  work  is  most 
beneficial.  From  the  time  the  roots  arrive  at  the 
factory  until  they  leave  they  are  not  subject  to  manual 
labor.  Is  this  so  with  the  melon  ?  To  our  knowl- 
edge it  is  not.  For  no  appliance  could  possibly  be 
made  that  would  empty  the  latter  of  its  interior,  and 
consequently  it  must  be  done  by  hand ;  which  opera- 
tion, to  be  effectual,  must  necessarily  be  extremely 

56 


expensive.  Any  fruit  or  root  must  permit  of  preserva- 
tion during  three  or  four  months  at  least  if  to  be 
used  for  sugar  manufacture.  The  watermelon  crop 
cannot  be  kept  during  that  time.  The  work  of  a 
sugar  factory  during  the  summer  months  would  not 
be  as  profitable  as  during  the  winter,  in  consequence  of 
the  fermentation  to  be  contended  with ;  whilst  the  beet 
may  be  preserved  during  four  to  five  months  of  the 
winter  in  an  excellent  condition.  Cantaloupes  should 
be  worked  two  days  after  harvesting  (as  admitted 
by  advocates),  otherwise  they  become  too  ripe, 
and  the  sugar  disappears.  This,  even  if  the  problem 
were  practicable,  would  condemn  their  usage.  The 
working  (according  to  theory)  of  squashes,  pump- 
kins, and  cantaloupes,  differs  essentially  from  that  of 
the  melon-sugar  manufacture, — the  rind  being  utilized, 
as  it  contains  a  small  percentage  of  sugar.  As  may  be 
imagined,  the  impurities  the  juice  contains  under 
these  circumstances  would  be  considerable.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  pumpkin  utilization,  from  which 
some  argue  that  forty  per  cent,  of  sugar  may  be 
extracted;  but  we  would  like  some  practical  figures 
demonstrating  the  truth  of  the  assertion.  It  is  true 
that  in  the  process  of  making  sugar  from  melons 
no  water  need  be  added  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  the 
melon  juice  is  extremely  diluted  and  does  not  ferment 
in  a  few  hours,  whilst  beet  juice  does.  If,  however, 
the  latter  be  mixed  with  water  to  the  same  degree  as 
the  melon  juice,  we  are  convinced  there  will  be  no 
difference  in  the  fermenting  qualities. 

The  portion  of  the  beet  which  grows  above  ground 
is  worthless  for  sugar  manufacture,  but  the  entire 
melon  is  equally  so  if  the  temperature  is  not  suffi- 
ciently high.  It  is  frequently  asked  why  it  is  that  red 
garden  beets  are  not  used  for  sugar  manufacture,  as 
they  are  far  superior  in  taste  to  the  well-known  sugar 

57 


beet.  The  reason  is  that  the  coloring  matter  would 
be  extremely  difficult  to  extract.  The  same  argu- 
ment applies  to  many  other  plants,  and  we  are  con- 
vinced that  the  watermelon  is  one  of  them.  The  cost 
of  the  melon  sugar  is  said  to  be  less  than  from  any 
other  source ;  we  are  willing  to  believe  this,  but  we 
have  never  seen  any  practical  data  as  to  the  results 
obtained.*  Factories  may,  as  contended,  exist  in  the 
countries  already  named,  but  the  sugar  and  revenue 
from  the  same  have  not,  to  our  knowledge,  ever  been 
published.  It  is  true  that  the  washing  of  the  beets  is 
an  operation  to  which  the  melons  need  not  be  sub- 
mitted, but  it  is  continuous,  and  done  at  a  compara- 
tively small  cost, — a  single  machine  performing  work 
for  200  tons  or  more  a  day,  and  using  only  the  waste 
steam  of  the  factory.  The  slicing  and  rasping  is 
extremely  rapid,  and  requires  but  little  care.  The 
pressing  of  the  juice  being  done  by  hydraulic  presses 
is  evidently  not  continuous,  but  the  diffusion,  etc.,  is. 
The  cost  of  a  melon  factory  is  sadly  exaggerated  by 
those  interested,  who  contend  that  with  $10,000  as  a 
first  investment  we  are  to  obtain  six  per  cent,  for 
our  money,  and  a  larger  dividend.  When  it  is  admit- 
ted that  a  still  smaller  factory  may  be  started  on  a 
capital  of  $1,000,  it  is  simply  acknowledging  a  com- 
plete ignorance  of  the  subject  under  discussion. 


*  In  the  Agricultural  Report  of  1844,  page  139,  mention  is  made  of  an  excellent 
syrup  manufactured  in  South  Carolina.  But  how  about  the  sugar  ?  We  have  no 
hopes  of  this  source  as  a  Northern  home  supply. 


BEET  SUGAR. 

Sugar  from  the  Sugar  Beet. 

WE  think  it  hardly  worth  while  to  repeat  what 
was  said  as  to  the  advantages  of  the  intro- 
duction of  the  sugar  beet  into  the  United 
States,  but  to  simply  assert  that  it  is  the  only  possible 
plant  which  can  supply  the  North  with  sugar,  when  it 
be  once  taken  hold  of  by  our  farmers,  and  tillers  in 
general.  The  results  at  Portland  and  Wilmington  were 
satisfactory,  and  proved  beyond  a  doubt  that  if  the 
supply  of  beets  had  been  sufficient,  the  supposed  fail- 
ure of  the  beet  sugar  enterprise  would  no  longer  have 
been  considered.  On  the  other  hand,  excellent  sugar 
was  made,  and  sold  on  the  market  with  the  same  ease 
as  any  of  the  imported.  The  factory  at  Alvarado  not 
only  has  been  a  success,  but  the  stockholders  received 
last  year  a  dividend,  which  was  the  first  declared  by 
any  American  beet  sugar  factory. 

In  Canada  several  new  establishments  have  been 
organized,  and  are  being  built  by  experienced  hands. 
These  will  be  worked  by  competent  men.  The  farmers 
are  there  interested  in  the  subject,  and  success  is 
assured ;  consequently  the  prospect  of  the  final  estab- 
lishment of  the  sugar  beet  industry  in  America  has 
never  appeared  more  favorable.  Would  it  not  be  well 
for  all  interested  in  the  good  of  the  country  to  exert 
themselves  in  aid  of  a  plausible  cause  rather  than 
in  a  scheme  originally  theoretical,  and  which  has 
remained  so  ?  The  sugar  beet,  and  the  manufacture 
of  sugar  therefrom,  does  not  depend,  in  the  Northern 

59 


States,  upon  the  building  of  jetties,  the  employment  of 
Chinese  labor,  or  upon  a  temperature  for  the  maturity 
that  is  never  attained.  Neither  does  it  depend 
upon  the  refiner,  after  it  has  traveled  hundreds  of 
of  miles  (thus  increasing  its  cost),  or  upon  the  drying- 
up  of  thousands  of  acres  of  swamps,  etc.  (where  it 
should  be  grown  but  cannot  be),  or  upon  the  utilization 
of  unpopulated  districts,  where  labor  is  scarce.  The 
manufacture  of  beet  sugar  is  not  based  upon  a  series  of 
hypotheses  absurdly  false,  such  as  comparing  it  with 
another  plant  of  the  same  kind,  but  superior  to  it,  whose 
juice  contains  but  a  small  percentage  of  impurities,  in 
which  case  the  crystallization  is  comparatively  easy. 
Sugar  may  be  made  from  the  beet  during  a  period  of 
a  few  hours'  visit  at  the  factory ;  whilst,  on  the  other 
hand,  if  one  should  attempt  to  use  the  sorghum  or  the 
early  amber,  one  month  after  harvesting,  several  weeks 
would  be  required  for  the  processes.  What  is  sup- 
posed to  be  true,  relating  to  the  sugar  beet,  is  true ; 
in  other  words,  it  is  a  Northern  sugar-yielding  plant, 
as  it  has  proved  for  fifty  or  more  years  in  Europe.  The 
coloring  substances  nearly  all  other  sources  of  sugar 
possess,  and  which  cannot  be  eliminated,  are  in 
the  beet-juice  entirely  extracted.  No  money 
need  be  spent  on  unnecessary  experiments, — 
these  have  all  been  made  in  Europe.  Is  it  not 
consequently  important  that  our  Hon.  Commissioner 
of  Agriculture,  G.  B.  Loring,  should  ask  for  a  Govern- 
ment appropriation,  having  these  facts  in  view  ?  As  a 
hearty  support  of  this  kind  would,  without  doubt,  be 
advantageous,  and  possibly  the  only  means  of  attain- 
ing that  which  could  not  otherwise  be  achieved,  we 
have  endeavored  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  sugar 
beets  in  the  North,  when  grown  under  ordinary  cir- 
cumstances, may  compete  with  the  sugar  cane  on  a  well- 
organized  Southern  sugar  plantation ;  and  they  will, 

60 


without  a  doubt,  act  as  an  agricultural  reformer.  This 
can  never  be  accomplished  with  the  sugar  cane,  or  its 
sub-varieties,  for  the  reason  that  the  system  of  cultiva- 
tion of  sorghum,  etc.,  is  closely  allied  to  that  of  the  corn, 
from  which  the  American  farmer  can  learn  but  little; 
whilst,  on  the  other  hand,  the  beet  teaches  new  prin- 
ciples and  puts  the  land  in  excellent  condition  for 
subsequent  crops.  The  importance  of  the  rotation 
becomes  evident,  as  already  stated.  Many  argue 
against  the  sugar  beet  industry,  that  it  requires  a  con- 
siderable capital  for  commencement,  and  the  risks  are 
such  that  but  few  are  willing  to  invest  their  money 
therein.  It  is  extremely  rational  that  there  should 
be  a  feeling  of  the  sort,  for  the  reason  that  other  indus- 
tries may  be  worked  upon  a  small  scale  for  a  trial, 
but  the  beet-sugar  manufacture  cannot  be ;  and  any 
establishment  started  with  less  than  one  hundred  tons 
a  day  capacity,  and  a  capital  of  less  than  $200,000, 
must  not  expect  to  succeed.  We  have  now  in  this 
country  too  many  examples  of  failures  resulting  from 
these  foolish  attempts.  The  industry  should  not  be 
managed  by. inexperienced  hands;  it  does  not  pretend 
to  be  within  the  easy  reach  of  every  farmer  and  house- 
hold, as  the  sorghum  and  maple  are  said  to  be.  We 
beg  to  call  attention  to  the  fact  that  by  a  judicious 
management  a  beet-sugar  factory  may  be  started  on  a 
small  capital,  and  will  lead  to  sugar  results  no  ima- 
ginary sorghum  mill  has  ever  attained,  or  perhaps  ever 
will.  An  idea  has  long  since  been  expounded,  and  in 
Europe  has  proved  to  be  excellent;  and  it  would 
be  still  better  in  America.  It  consists  in  a  utilization  of 
the  beet  which  would  enable  experience  to  be  acquired 
by  our  farmers  as  to  the  best  methods  of  planting,  and 
the  most  satisfactory  fertilizer  to  be  used  upon  a  given 
soil,  after  having  judiciously  selected  the  locality.  This 
proposition  is  simply  distilling  the  beet  juice  with  the 

61 


view  to  alcohol  manufacture ;  not  spirits  of  a  second- 
ary quality,  but  rectified  alcohol  fit  for  the  use  of 
laboratories  and  pharmacies,  marking,  say,  95°  B. 
This  evidently  requires  a  special  beet-distilling  appa- 
ratus. It  would  lead  to  a  positive  failure  if  attempts 
were  made  to  utilize  a  whiskey-still,  or  some  other 
similar  appliances.  As  for  special  work  special  appli- 
ances are  required,  so  in  beet-juice  distillation  volatile 
oils  are  to  be  contended  with,  which  are  unfamiliar  to 
the  grain  distiller.  The  refuse  pulp  may  be  sold  for 
manure,  or,  better  still,  used  as  a  fodder.  If  the  latter 
plan  be  adopted,  it  may  be  safely  said  that  alcohol 
may  be  manufactured  from  the  beet  that  could  com- 
pete with  corn  or  any  other  substance  (having  sugar 
in  its  composition),  for  the  reason  that  the  mash  from 
a  corn  distillery  is  nothing  like  as  valuable  for  a 
fodder  as  the  beet  refuse.  Even  if  this  alcohol  be  sold 
at  cost,  it  would  leave  to  the  manufacturer  a  profit 
from  the  increase  in  weight  of  the  animals  attached  to 
all  well-organized  beet-sugar  factories.  (The  distil- 
lery utilizes  the  molasses,  from  the  refuse  of  which 
potassa  is  obtained.  From  the  refuse,  after  potassa 
remains  a  fertilizer  which  represents  nearly  all  the  ele- 
ments that  had  previously  been  extracted  from  the 
soil.  If  farms  are  in  the  immediate  neighborhood,  this 
will  be  to  them  an  immense  advantage.)  We  beg  to 
call  attention  to  the  fact  that  our  system  of  taxation  is 
such  that  our  Government  knows  exactly  the  number 
of  gallons  distilled,  hence  can  be  known  the 
amount  of  sugar  the  primitive  grain  or  root  con- 
tained. Consequently,  after  several  years  of  experience 
in  growing  these  roots,  a  company  could  be  easily 
formed,  for  the  reason  that  exact  figures  could  be 
given,  such  as  the  average  amount  of  sugar  that  roots 
contained  during  the  four  years  of  their  growth  upon 
a  given  soil,  for  example,  and  not  based  upon  European 

62 


data,  which  are  not,  in  many  respects,  compatible  with 
results  to  be  here  expected,  having  also  a  tendency  to 
mislead.  The  average  number  of  tons  to  the"  acre, 
and  the  cost  of  growing  the  same,  could  be  positively 
ascertained  in  advance.  The  distillery,  after  the  beet 
sugar  factory  is  started,  could  use  the  refuse  molasses, 
as  above  stated.  It  becomes  evident  that  thus 
the  uncertainty  of  the  enterprise  would  no  longer 
exist.  We  would  say,  that  when  the  farmers  are 
willing  to  contract  for  beets  for  a  period  of  years,  and 
when  the  elution  method,  so  called,  is  generally  prac- 
ticed, refuse  molasses  will  not  exist.  The  distillery 
would  then  be  unnecessary.  But  we  consider  that 
under  the  present  farmers'  difficulties  the  distillation 
idea  is  extremely  plausible.  Notwithstanding,  would  it 
not  be  well  for  the  friends  of  the  beet-sugar  industry, 
who  are  anti-liquor  men,  to  realize  the  harm  they  would 
do  if  they  offered  any  opposition  to  this  beet-alcohol 
project,  which  is  such  an  easy  solution  of  so  great  a 
result? 


63 


MISCELLANEOUS  SUGARS. 

Various  Sources   of  Sugar   from  which   Nothing  is 
to  be  Expected. 

First. — FINITE  or  PINE  SUGAR.  It  is  to  be  found 
in  the  sap  of  the  California  pine. 

Second. — ACORN  SUGAR.  To  be  found  in  acorns. 
It  crystallizes. 

Third. — MANNITE  or  MANNA  SUGAR.  This  variety 
of  sugar  forms  during  the  viscous  fermentation  of 
cane  sugar  ;  it  crystallizes  ;  it  is  to  be  found  in  the 
concrete  juice  of  two  kinds  of  ash,  grown  in  Southern 
and  in  Eastern  countries. 

It  is  also  taken  from  certain  trees  very  much  in 
the  same  way  as  the  maple.  This  sugar  contains  a 
crystalline  called  mannite,  which  is  agreeable  in  taste. 
There  are  11,000  pounds  of  the  manna  imported 
yearly  to  Great  Britain.  After  being  kept  for  some 
time  it  produces  a  laxative  effect  upon  the  system.  It 
exists  in  many  sea-weeds.  Of  the  various  kinds  of 
manna  sugars  we  may  mention  MANNA  OAK,  LARCH 
MANNA,  CEDAR  MANNA  (this  is  said  to  have  wonderful 
curative  properties  for  lung  complaints),  PERSIAN 
MANNA,  TAMARISK  MANNA  (this  latter  grows  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Mount  Sinai),  ARCIN  MANNA  or  SUGAR. 

Fourth. — DULCITE.  This  is  to  be  found  in  a  crys- 
talline substance  little  known,  brought  from  Mada- 
gascar. It  is  also  formed  by  the  action  of  sodium 
upon  milk-sugar. 

Fifth. — ISODULCITE.  It  is  formed  by  submitting 
quercitrine  to  the  action  of  acids.  Its  crystallization 

64 


is  very  similar  to  that  of  cane  sugar,  and  it  is  sweeter 
than  glucose. 

Sixth. — CHESTNUT  SUGAR.  It  is  made  from  the 
chestnut  tree. 

Seventh. — EUCALYPTUS  SUGAR.  Made  from  the 
sap  of  trees  found  principally  in  Australia,  Algiers,  etc. 

Eighth. — LIQUORICE  SUGAR.  From  the  root  of 
common  liquorice. 

Ninth. — MILK  SUGAR. 

Tenth.— Last  of  all  the  various  GLUCOSES  : 

Glucose  rarely,  if  ever,  occurs  in  nature ;  it  is 
produced  by  the  action  of  acids  upon  cane  sugar,  and 
many  erroneously  confound  it  with  the  latter.  The 
evil  effects  produced  by  it  upon  our  community  are 
very  much  greater  than  many  suppose.  As  a  general 
thing  a  certain  amount  of  acid  is  used  in  its  prepara- 
tion, and  frequently  in  excess,  which  cannot  be  bene- 
ficial. The  crystallization,  so  called,  is  nothing  more 
nor  less  than  a  granulation.  The  less  we  say  upon 
this  subject  the  better  (unless  a  solution  be  given  to 
the  manner  of  transforming  glucose  into  sucrose). 

MALTOSE  is  a  variety  of  glucose  ;  it  is  produced 
by  the  action  of  malt  upon  starch  paste. 

FRUIT  SUGAR  is  formed  by  the  mixing  of  two 
glucoses  in  equal  quantities. 

MANITOSE  is  a  glucose  produced  by  the  action  of 
mannitic  acid. 

GALOTOSE  is  obtained  by  boiling  milk-sugar  with 
diluted  acids. 

SORBINE  may  be  obtained  from  ripe  mountain  ash 
berries  (also  called  elderberry  sugar) ;  it  crystallizes, 
and  is  nearly  as  sweet  as  cane  sugar. 

SUGAR  FROM  THE  PALM  OR  DATE. 

The  palm  and  date  are  used  for  sugar  manufacture 
principally  near  Bengal,  and  the  secondary  product  is 

65 


sold  as  jaggery,  and  is  anything  but  attractive  in 
appearance.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  purer  arti- 
cle from  the  same  source  known  as  kham.  The  manu- 
facture of  palm  sugar,  it  is  true,  has,  in  India,  attained 
a  very  advanced  state.  About  1 1 ,000  pounds  are 
yearly  extracted  from  that  tree.  The  molasses  is  good, 
and  may  be  directly  eaten.  The  sucrose  (cane  sugar) 
crystallizes  with  ease.  If  the  palm  were  grown  over 
some  hundred  thousand  times  the  area  it  now  is, 
it  might  reduce  considerably  the  price  of  sugar  the 
World  over.  But  it  may  be  justly  said  that  it  will 
never  be  a  source  for  sugar  extraction  in  our  Northern 
climes. 


66 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


SEP  8-196876 


& 


V 


LD  21A-60m-10,'65 
(F7763slO)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


